


The Trials of Love

by consultingviking



Series: The Trials of Love [1]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Angst, Appropriate Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Drama & Romance, Embarrassed Hiro, Embarrassment, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feels, First Crush, First Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Teen Angst, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 09:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 42,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3062792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/consultingviking/pseuds/consultingviking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something is definitely wrong with Hiro. Having just turned fifteen, he's well on his way into what Baymax previously diagnosed as "puberty." But with puberty comes strange new feelings, situations, and people that even a genius like Hiro isn't prepared to handle... [Hiro x OC]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally saw Big Hero 6 (by this point, I've seen it three times in theaters), and I loved it to pieces. So what do I do when I love something to pieces?
> 
> I produce fanworks, of course!
> 
> I got this little plot bunny the other day while I was thinking about how Hiro would act if he were to ever get a crush on someone. This was originally supposed to just be a little oneshot, but who knows? Maybe I'll expand on it.
> 
> Hope you like!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Big Hero 6.

Something was definitely wrong with Hiro.

Well, maybe not  _wrong_  per se, but the rest of the team certainly noticed a change come over him as the school semester passed. It wasn't just the physical kind, everyone already knew about those. Having just turned fifteen during the past year, Hiro was well on his way into what Baymax had previously diagnosed as "puberty."

He had grown taller – shot up a full five inches – and his voice had gotten slightly deeper as well. Although he retained the scrawny frame from his youth, he had filled out quite nicely. And, true to Baymax's prediction, he had hair.  _Everywhere._

That being said, no one on the team was concerned about Hiro's physical changes. The emotional changes, however? Those were something else.

His normally friendly demeanor had heightened considerably – he was always smiling as of late – and he seemed to walk with a spring in his step. He was also spending a lot more time in front of the bathroom mirror. Actually, whenever he passed any reflective surface at all, he would quickly glance over, run his fingers through his hair, and continue on his way like nothing had happened. For a boy who previously didn't give a damn about the way he looked, it was  _highly_ suspicious.

After much debate amongst themselves, a few scans by Baymax, and several top-secret missions carried out by both Fred and Wasabi, they had their answer.

Hiro was in love.

Now the only question was:

With  _whom?_

After several more weeks consisting of more debates amongst themselves, more secret missions by Fred, and interrogating Hiro until he was red in the face, they finally got their answer on a simple trip to the hardware store.

Wasabi needed some new parts for his tool kit (they mysteriously kept disappearing), while Gogo wanted some new upgrades for her bike. As the group walked towards the store, none of them noticed Hiro subconsciously glance at his reflection in the window and smooth his hair into place. Standing up a little straighter, he followed the others through the front door.

Behind the register, there stood a teenage girl with long red hair that was held back in a high ponytail. When she saw the group enter, she gave them a smile.

"How're you guys doing today?"

Everyone responded accordingly, but when Hiro spoke up, the girl gave a small laugh.

"You again?"

"Yeah," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Just needed to pick up a few things."

"That you didn't remember last time?" The girl raised her eyebrow in response, but the smile never left her face.

"What can I say?" Hiro said sheepishly. "I'm a little scatterbrained."

"I would agree," said the girl. "But I'm not allowed to insult customers directly."

"What about your lab partner?" Hiro grinned.

"He can come talk to me when he emails those plans he promised last week." The girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm working on it!" Hiro raised his hands in defense. "I've just been very busy lately, that's all."

" _Sure_  you have," the girl rolled her eyes. "Buying up the entire store!"

"I-!" Hiro sputtered. "I need a lot of parts!"

"Mhmm," said the girl. "Would any of those parts happen to be for our semester project? Because if so, I'll gladly give you my employee discount."

"No, that's okay." Hiro blushed. "You don't have to do that."

The girl shrugged. "Suit yourself." Gesturing her head towards the aisles, she said, "I assume you know where you're going by this point?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Alrighty then," she leaned against the wall behind the counter. "Just yell if you need anything."

"Will do!" Hiro scampered off to his desired aisle, while the others, who had been secretly watching the conversation unfold, exchanged knowing smiles.

_Jackpot._

Once everyone had gotten what they needed, they formed a line at the front of the register to pay. When it was Hiro's turn, he set his things down and waited for the girl to scan them in.

"That'll be $21.80." she said.

"What?" Hiro was confused. "I thought it was-"

"I gave you my employee discount." The girl smiled. "No need for you to go broke while you get what you need."

Hiro felt his heart flutter as he smiled back and paid for his items. "Thank you."

"No problem. But I expect that email in my inbox!"

"I'll get it to you, I promise." Hiro waved to the girl. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" she waved back, before Hiro turned around and exited the store. Once he got outside, he found the others waiting expectantly for him, all wearing that knowing look from inside the store.

Noticing all their stares, Hiro raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Wasabi cocked his head towards the store. "You know that girl?"

"Uh, yeah." Hiro shifted nervously. "She's my lab partner."

"Oh," Wasabi raised a knowing eyebrow. "Is that all?"

"Yes?"

Gogo smirked. "Not for long."

" _What?!"_

"C'mon Hiro," said Fred. "We saw you talking to her."

"How many times have you been in that place?" asked Honey.

"Just a few!" cried Hiro. "Really!"

"Suuuuure," Gogo rolled her eyes. "That's why you've bought up the entire store, right?"

"Admit it, Hiro." said Wasabi. "You've got it  _bad._ "

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do."

"No I  _don't!_ "

"Actually, it kinda seems like you do." Fred interjected.

"Aww, leave him alone guys." said Honey. "He's turning red."

Horrified, Hiro brought a hand up to his face. Sure enough, the skin there was flushed a deep crimson color and emitting an intense amount of heat.

"Sorry, bud." Fred apologized. "But seriously, you should totally ask her out sometime."

"No." Hiro said firmly.

"But you'd make such a great couple!" He insisted. "'Cause you know, she's so tall, and you're so, um… not as tall but still tall enough, know what I mean?"

"What Fred is trying to say," interposed Honey. "Is that you shouldn't be scared to ask her out. From what I can tell, I think she really likes you too."

Her words definitely made Hiro feel better, but at the moment, he was too embarrassed to dwell any more on it.

"Thanks, guys." he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may add more parts to this later, but it probably won't be as organized as my chapter stories lol.
> 
> Have a wonderful holiday season! I hope you get lots of presents and time with the people you love :)
> 
> Love,
> 
> Liz


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look I finally decided to update this little story :P haha but anyways, I finally sat down and wrote this out today while my classes were cancelled due to crazy snow. It ended up going in a bit of a different direction than I thought it would (a lot more feels this time around), but I hope you enjoy it anyways.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6.

Time passed, and as the semester continued on, the others learned more about the girl Hiro Hamada had fallen in love with.

Her name was Maiye Barton, and she was seventeen years old. She was a freshman at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, studying Computer Engineering. Like Hiro, she had graduated high school at a young age, when she was sixteen years old. Her parents – a police officer and a professional artist – had divorced when she was fourteen, and her father moved to San Fransokyo to take on a new job. She had been visiting him over February vacation when she first visited the Institute, and loved it at first sight.

It had been a big change for Maiye to move from her original home – the city of New Yorksea – all the way to San Fransokyo, clear across the country. Things sure were different here, no doubt about it.

But sometimes, different could be a good thing.

It had been a simple conversation, one that began while Maiye and Hiro were working late in the lab one night. Thanksgiving was coming up, and they were both more than ready for the well-deserved break.

“This project is going to be the death of me,” Maiye had said, chewing on a slice of cold pizza. “I swear.”

“One more week,” Hiro had promised from behind the screen of his laptop. “One more week, and then we’re in the clear.”

“One more week,” Maiye grinned. “And my house is going to be jam-packed full of relatives who keep commenting on how _tall_ I’ve gotten.” She laughed lightly. “As if I need to be reminded.”

Hiro chuckled, but couldn’t bring himself to respond. Hearing her talk about how busy and crowded her house was going to be only served as a reminder of how quiet his already was.

Noticing his silence, Maiye raised an eyebrow. “You ok?”

“Yeah.” Hiro shrugged, typing away.

Maiye wasn’t buying it. Scooting her chair next to Hiro’s, she placed a hand behind his laptop and attempted to close it while he was still typing.

“Hey!” Hiro turned to glare at her, but stopped short when he realized just how close she was. At this angle, their faces were mere inches apart, and he found himself staring directly into her eyes.

_Wow did she have beautiful eyes…_

“Are you sure you’re ok?” asked Maiye, resting her chin on her hand.

It was then that Hiro realized there was no point in hiding anything from her. Sighing, he turned away and ran a hand through his tousled hair.

“It’s just… I’m not sure if I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year after all.”

“You’re not?” Maiye raised an eyebrow and was just about to ask him why, until she followed Hiro’s gaze to the framed photo that sat on his desk. Inside it, there stood a younger version of Hiro being hugged from behind by an older boy. Both of them were smiling and laughing at the camera.

“I see,” Maiye said softly. “I’m sorry.”

Hiro attempted a half-smile in her direction. “Thanks.” Leaning back in his chair, he remained quiet for a few moments, before speaking again.

“Thanksgivings at my house have always been small,” he mused quietly. “But with Tadashi around, they never felt that way. He was always the one cracking jokes and telling me to eat my vegetables.” Hiro laughed humorlessly. “He always used to make fun of how short I was because I didn’t eat them.”

Hearing Hiro talk about how much he missed his brother and how much his death had truly impacted him caused Maiye to feel sadder than she thought she would. Hiro always seemed so happy. It hadn’t occurred to her that he was going through a lot more than he let on.

Before she could lose her nerve, she leaned forward and pulled him into a gentle hug. That was acceptable, right? Hugging your lab partner ( _and hopefully more_ ) when they were feeling upset? _Oh please, please, **please** don’t freak out…_

Hiro, in the meantime, sat frozen in place when he suddenly felt Maiye wrap her arms around him. Wait, was she _hugging_ him?! _She was!_ In that instant, the genius’s brain became filled with nothing but a string of _wow she’s really hugging me this is really happening her arms are around me and everything I’m not dreaming oh god she smells really nice how do girls do that?!_

With wide eyes, he quickly glanced sideways at the photograph of Tadashi that sat on his desk. His brother had always been an expert when it came to this sort of stuff. What would he do right now?

Then, out of nowhere, he heard Tadashi’s voice echo in his mind.

_What are you waiting for, bonehead?_ It said with a chuckle. _Hug her back._

Timidly, Hiro raised his arms and wrapped them around Maiye’s abdomen, allowing his head to rest lightly on her shoulder as a whirlwind of emotions passed through his mind. Oh, why did everything always have to be so confusing? Was it possible for one person to feel happy and sad all at once? Moreover, did Maiye have any idea of the effect she was having on Hiro right about now?

When they pulled away, Maiye moved her hands so that they were now sitting on Hiro’s arms, just slightly above his hands. The gentleness in her touch reignited the nervousness Hiro often felt around her as he felt his heart rate speed up and his face flush red. In that moment, Hiro struggled to find the words that would easily explain how he was feeling on the inside, you know, something simple along the lines of,

_I really like you as more than just a friend or lab partner but I don’t know what to do about it, and I can’t ask my brother because he’s dead and it still hurts to think about him too much._

But when he saw the expression on Maiye’s face and the understanding look behind her misty blue eyes, Hiro realized that maybe he didn’t have to do any explaining at all. Maybe, just maybe, this would be enough for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be cute, I swear, but it took a completely different direction than I intended and now it's a one way feels trip that made even me emotional while writing it ;_; Don't worry, if everything goes as planned, the next installment should be a little happier.
> 
> Well, enjoy the snow friends! (And if I don't update before then, happy Valentine's Day <3)
> 
> -Liz


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally on spring break! (Or, in my case, winter break part 2) Know what that means? It means I finally get to update this story! Believe it or not, I've been working on it off and on since the last update, but I got slammed with work right before break. But that's college for ya. It's basically a huge mix of insane amounts of work and periods of almost no work at all.
> 
> In any case, I'm so glad I finally get to update this. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

An entire week had passed since Maiye and Hiro hugged. Outwardly, nothing appeared any different. They still worked on their project, shared conversation, and every so often, Maiye would eat lunch with Hiro and his friends. On the inside though, there was a change for both of them.

If Hiro thought he had it bad for Maiye before, he had fallen even harder now. After being in her arms for those few brief moments, there was no place he was more keen to get back to. When he was with Maiye, it was almost like nothing bad could ever happen to him.

Little did he know, he was having a very similar effect on her as well. Ever since she hugged him, Maiye’s head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hiro. She wanted to get some homework done? Too bad, Hiro had taken the seat opposite her in the library to sketch in his journal and decided to look _especially_ nice today. Maiye sighed. Unless it was computer code, writing had never been her forte anyways.

Meanwhile, the others had noticed the subtle change in the way Maiye and Hiro interacted with each other, and had varying opinions on what to do about it. Gogo’s solution was to get on Hiro’s case about it every chance she got (“She won’t _know_ if you don’t tell her!”), while Honey thought it best to let him work at his own pace (“Take your time, Hiro, these things can’t be rushed.”).

Both Wasabi and Fred kept trying to give him unsolicited romantic advice, “man to man”, but had very differing opinions about it. (“No no no, Hiro, there is a time and a place to do the yawn and stretch, and dinner is _not_ one of them!” “What, are you kidding? Dinner is the _perfect_ time to do the yawn and stretch! Sets you up for the rest of the evening, eh?”). Every single one of these conversations left Hiro red-faced, embarrassed out of his mind, and throwing himself into his work every chance he got.

This was the way things continued. And if not for a completely random incident on a normal Wednesday morning, it might have continued a lot longer.

* * *

 

It all began when Maiye walked to her lab desk before her first class, yawning all the way. Even though she considered herself a morning person, she hadn’t slept well last night. Her mind kept running with thought after thought after thought, and she couldn’t make it stop. She was embarrassed to admit that about 80% of those thoughts were attributed to her completely adorable, completely infuriating lab partner (whom she had also been texting for a good part of the night, but that, of course, was irrelevant).

At least she had Friday to look forward to. That was when she was going to the annual San Fransokyo Technology Expo with one of her professors. The lady was given an extra ticket to the event, and thought that since Maiye had never been to one before, she might like to go. Well, taking Maiye to an event like this was the equivalent to taking a small child to a toy store, so of course the answer had been a resounding _YES!_

Walking up to her desk, Maiye set down her thermos filled with green tea (which she had developed a taste for since moving to the west coast) and was just about to pull out her laptop when she noticed a small envelope tucked into one of the shelves and bearing her name. Ripping it open, Maiye was surprised to find the two tickets to the convention, along with a handwritten note.

_Dear Maiye,_

_I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it to the expo this Friday. My daughter called this morning to tell me that she finally went into labor, so after I finish this note, I’ll be hopping on a train and heading down south to see my new grandchild. I’m not sure if I’ll be back in time for the convention, so I’m giving my ticket to you. Hopefully you can find someone to go with and have an absolute blast, I hear Alistair Krei is supposed to be one of the keynote speakers!_

_Again, I’m so sorry to leave you hanging like this, but grandma duties beckon. Have fun with whomever you go with, and tell me all about it on Monday :)_

_-Professor Collins_

Oh.

Well, _that_ certainly changed a few things.

Of course, Maiye was happy for her professor. At least once a week, the woman would mention her daughter and how much she missed seeing her all the time. And considering Maiye only had that particular class one day a week, she mentioned it quite often.

However, this left Maiye with _quite_ the predicament. The expo was this Friday, and it was already Wednesday morning. Who would be able to go on such short notice? Asking her family was out. Fridays were when her father worked the late shift at the police department, and her stepmom, nice as she was, probably wouldn’t enjoy a technology expo the way Maiye would. And her younger sister was only two years old – the expo started right at bedtime!

Just as Maiye was resigning herself to selling the ticket online and saving the money, someone instantly popped into her head. Someone who loved technology in any way, shape, or form. Someone who would probably kill to go to an expo like this. Someone who wanted to use technology to help the world and its people in any way possible.

Someone who just happened to be her lab partner this semester.

* * *

As he walked towards his next class, Hiro’s mind was already running in a thousand different directions at once. And about nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine of those directions led straight to his absolutely wonderful, absolutely infuriating lab partner.

_“Hey Maiye, did you want to hang out sometime?”_

No no no, too vague.

_“Hey Maiye, do you like movies?”_

Stupid question, who didn’t?

_“Hey Maiye, I really like you as more than just a friend, would you happen to feel the same way about me?”_

…

Definitely _not._

Hiro sighed heavily. That was it, then. He would never ever have the courage to tell Maiye how he really felt, and thus, the two of them would forever be trapped in this horrible cycle of “will we, won’t we, can we, should we?”

And then, when she would undoubtedly get sick of such a long and painful cycle, some dashing guy with rugged good looks, much taller than Hiro was ever going to be in this lifetime, would stroll right in and sweep her off her feet. Considering he probably worked out every day and was naturally muscular, he would no doubt be capable of carrying the tall, sophisticated beauty that was Maiye Barton.

The two of them would probably wind up married (because honestly, when up against something like _that,_ why would she want to choose Hiro?), and give birth to adorable, genetically perfect children who would probably all wind up doing something amazing with their lives. Like invent the first time machine, or the first teleportation machine, if their equally amazing mother had not already done so by then.

Hiro, meanwhile, would surely grow old and decrepit and lonely, with only his robots and maybe the occasional cat to soothe his shattered soul.

However, when he shared this information with his friends, they didn’t seem to feel the same way.

“Hiro, I’m saying this in the nicest way possible,” Wasabi told the teenager before open lab started. “You’re losing it.”

“This is one of those things you can’t rush.” said Fred, whom had stopped in to say hello before attending a basketball game for his mascot job. “Just relax, and let things happen the way they’re supposed to.”

“But what if they never do?” asked Hiro. “What if we just get stuck like this forever because neither of us actually says anything?”

As he talked, he made the mistake of glancing over to Maiye’s desk, and his heart immediately sank when he saw her talking to some tall guy with nice hair, holding a small stack of papers in his hands.

Hiro pointed the scene out to the others. “See?” he asked miserably. “It’s already happening!” He was already mentally preparing himself for the inevitable day when they would walk into open lab, holding hands and smiling lovingly at each other.

“Hiro,” Gogo stared blankly at him. “That’s the _teaching assistant._ ”

“…Oh.”

“Oh my god,” Gogo placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him. “You need to _calm down._ You’ll make yourself sick.”

“Too late for that.” Hiro whined, clutching his stomach. He was already feeling pretty jittery before, but Gogo shaking him had made it even worse.

“Here’s my advice,” Honey cut in. “Don’t think about it. Just focus on your work. You don’t have to ignore her, just stop freaking out so much.” She smiled sweetly at him. “You’ll be fine.”

Hiro smiled back at Honey, but it was weak. He hoped that with everything that was going on, he would somehow be able to take her advice to heart.

At this point, the professor gave the class permission to start working on their projects, whether individually or in groups. Going over to his work station, Hiro decided to take his mind off of everything by listening to a mixtape that Fred gave him for his 15th birthday. Putting on his headphones, he opened up his latest project and began to work. He considered himself very lucky that none of the songs on the tape were related to love, longing, or romance in any way. After working steadily for about thirty minutes, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder which caused him to jump.

Turning around, he saw none other than Maiye standing there, laughing. “I’m sorry!” she said. “I wasn’t trying to startle you.”

“You didn’t startle me.” Hiro lied, shaking his head.

“You sure?” Maiye raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly. “For a minute there, I thought you were gonna fall out of your seat.”

“Nah,” Hiro brushed it off, hoping beyond hoping that his face wasn’t anywhere near as red as it felt. “So what’s up?”

“I got a present for you.” Maiye dropped a small stack of papers onto his desk. “Happy birthday!”

“Aww, you shouldn’t have.” Hiro placed a hand over his heart in mock-heartfeltness. “Sadly though, you’re too late. My birthday was in July.”

“Well, technically I didn’t,” responded Maiye. “I asked the TA to print it for me since they don’t get charged each time.”*

“Ah.” Hiro nodded. So _that_ was what they were discussing earlier.

“Plus,” she finished. “I didn’t know you when you were having your birthday, so I technically can’t be held accountable for tardiness.”

“Or maybe you can.” Hiro smiled teasingly at her. “I could do that, you know.”

“In which case,” Maiye crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “I would have to hold _you_ accountable for missing _my_ birthday.”

“And just when _was_ your birthday?”

“September 1st.” replied Maiye. “The day before classes started.”

“I’ll remember that then.” The stress ball that had wound itself up in Hiro’s stomach earlier had slowly begun to unwind when he smiled and met Maiye’s gaze.

She looked nice today. Not that she didn’t always look nice when she showed up to class, but right now, it was just more noticeable. She had on a gray, short-sleeved v-neck, a pair of jeans, and dark brown boots with rose-colored socks peeking up over the top. A pair of dog tags hung around her neck that Hiro often saw her play with during bouts of silence.

 _Does she always wake up looking like this or does she plan for it?_   Either way, the longer Hiro held her gaze, the more he could feel the butterflies returning to his stomach and making a permanent home there.

The two of them didn’t interact again until the end of class. While everyone was packing up their things to go home, their professor met them at Maiye’s desk to discuss their progress on their project – and was very impressed.

“I should pair you two together more often.” He winked at the pair and chuckled. “Keep up the good work.”

As the professor left to gather his things, Hiro turned towards Maiye.

“I’m glad he liked it.” He said.

“Me too.” responded Maiye. “I was starting to get nervous.”

“Same.” Hiro laughed lightly, but didn’t mention how his nervousness was for an entirely different reason. A moment later, he spoke again.

“I should get going, my aunt is expecting me home for dinner.” He smiled at Maiye as he turned to go. “See you tomorrow.”

“Hang on a second!”

Hiro spun around to see Maiye stand from her seat. “Yes?”

“Um…” Maiye shifted in place and took hold of the dog tags around her neck, as if she were nervous about something.  “Are you doing anything this Friday?” she blurted out.

“No,” Hiro responded, his heart suddenly racing inside his chest. “Why?”

“Well,” Maiye leaned against the side of her desk as she spoke, never letting go of the tags. “You… You’ve heard of the San Fransokyo Technology Expo, right? Actually… that’s a dumb question. You’ve lived here longer, so you probably have.”

“Eh,” Hiro grinned slightly and decided to make a joke. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

Maiye laughed at that, looking slightly less anxious than before. “Anyways,” she continued. “I was supposed to go this Friday with my professor, but something came up and she had to back out. I still have the extra ticket though, so I was wondering if maybe… you’d like to go with me?”

Was this really happening? Hiro wasn’t dreaming? Maiye was really standing in front of him, with an extra ticket to one of the best technology conventions in existence… and she wanted to go with _him?_ For a moment, he was so stunned that he didn’t even speak.

Maiye apparently took his silence for hesitation and started talking again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” she said quickly. “I don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want to do. I was just thinking that you might enjoy it since you’re really into that sort of stuff, and you might like it a lot better than, say, my stepmom or something, and I think there’s supposed to be food too, since it’s an expo, and you don’t actually have to pay for your ticket-“

“Woah, hang on!” Hiro broke into a huge grin as he cut Maiye off. “You’re not forcing me into anything. I’d love to go with you.”

Wait, was that a _yes?_

Maiye stopped rambling for a moment and turned to look back at Hiro.

“You… You would?”

“Yeah!” Hiro smiled. “It sounds really cool!”

_And you’ll be there too._

“Great then!” Maiye smiled back in relief. “It starts at 7, so if you want, I could swing by and get you around 6.”

“That sounds great!”

“Awesome! So,” Maiye began to gather her things. “I’ll see you then?”

“Yes you will!” Hiro could barely contain his excitement as Maiye began to leave the lab. “Bye!”

Once he was certain that she was gone, Hiro promptly fist-pumped the air and let out a loud and utterly joyful,

**_“YES!”_ **

Out of anybody in the world that Maiye could have asked to go with her to the expo on Friday, _she had asked **him!**_ First she had hugged him, and now she wanted to go someplace alone with him? And not just someplace, but one of the best conventions for new technology in the existence of existence? Maybe she really _did_ like him back after all!

Hiro was so happy that a part of him wondered if he had died and gone to heaven, because that was certainly the way he was feeling right now. After he packed up his things, he practically _skipped_ out of the lab to go and meet his friends. On a wonderful occasion such as this, he couldn’t _wait_ to tell them the good news.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, the moment you've all been waiting for! (From what I understand at least) They finally got a date! Yay! *throws confetti* Actually, I think this is my longest chapter yet. On the word document, it was a little over 7 pages! Not sure how long the next one is going to be though.
> 
> Thank you for all your kind reviews and comments, it means a lot to know that you're enjoying this story so much :)
> 
> -Liz
> 
> *A quick note: At my college, using the printers costs about seven cents each time, and students get a certain amount of money for the semester. I haven't reached my limit as of yet, but I figured it might be the same kind of deal at SFIT, so that's why Maiye asked the TA to print it for her instead. With so many pages, she'd probably run out in no time lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry about the extended wait for this update. After spring break ended, I had a bunch of issues at school with my roommates, people I thought were my best friends. However, these issues got so big that I ended up moving out of the room and cutting ties with them altogether. So needless to say, it was pretty rough few weeks. I got a new room with a new roommate who was absolutely lovely, and my last few weeks of school were spent preparing for final exams. It was only after I got out for the summer that I realized I hadn't updated this story on this website, so I'm sorry about that :P
> 
> But anyways, here's a new chapter just for you, I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

As soon as Hiro got home and said hello to Aunt Cass, he immediately ran out to the garage and activated Baymax.

"Hello, Hiro." Said the robot, before quickly scanning him. "My scan has indicated that you have an elevated heart rate and elevated neurotransmitter levels. This indicates that you are happy."

"Yeah, I'm happy!" Hiro grinned at his friend. "I've got a date!"

"Scanning database," said Baymax, until he found the appropriate definition. "Date," he said. "A form of courtship which may include any social activity undertaken by two or more persons with the aim of addressing each other's suitability as a life partner." Baymax turned towards Hiro. "You are seeking a life partner? May I help you with this?"

"Uh, no thanks, buddy." Hiro's face flushed red. "It's just a date. I'm not asking her to marry me."

_Yet._

"Have I met this potential life partner?" asked Baymax.

"Surprisingly, no." said Hiro. "But I've told her about you. All good things." He added quickly.

"Do you want me to scan your potential life partner for compatibility?" asked Baymax.

"No!" cried Hiro, growing more and more embarrassed by the minute. Crap, this was worse than those "man to man" conversations with Wasabi and Fred… "That-That won't be necessary!"

Waddling over to the computer, Baymax placed his hand on the monitor, and various images began flashing onto his chest.

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"I am downloading a database on courtship and romance among adolescents." said Baymax. "Database downloaded."

"Oh, great."

"The practice of dating is a common social activity among adolescents," continued Baymax. "This can lead to a variety of things, including long-term relationships, and varying levels of intimacy."

"Baymax!"

"For example, you may feel strong, powerful urges towards your potential life partner. Please know that this is completely normal, and no cause for any shame."

" _Baymax!"_

"However, if you feel that you are not ready to act upon these urges, it is important to voice your concerns, and wait until a time when both you and your potential life partner are-"

" _ **BAYMAX!"**_

"Yes, Hiro?"

Hiro glared at him. "I am satisfied with my care."

* * *

Friday came, and after her last class was finished, Maiye immediately rushed home to get ready for her date with Hiro. After taking a shower, she found herself standing in front of her wardrobe, wearing a blue fuzzy bathrobe and a towel on her head, making one of the hardest decisions known to humankind:

_Skirt or pants?_

Maiye cared about her appearance. She always had. Wherever she went, she always liked to make sure that she was dressed presentably. Her philosophy was that if you looked good, then you were well on your way to feeling good too.

Except right now, Maiye felt very nervous. What if this night turned out to be a disaster? What if she said the wrong thing? What if she rambled? What if he just said yes to be polite and didn't like her after all?

Or what if it  _wasn't_  a disaster? What if he actually liked her a lot? What if he was nice and sweet and an absolute gentleman during their date?

_What if he tried to kiss her?_

For Maiye, that was more nerve-wracking than if he didn't like her at all.

But back to the decision at hand. She'd already picked out the first part of her outfit: a short-sleeved collarless blouse, gray-blue in color, with a set of dark blue buttons down the front. Since it was supposed to get chilly later, she was also going to wear her dark green, army-style jacket too. Heck, she already knew what shoes she was going to wear (dark brown boots, because even though she had a love for heels, the idea of wearing them around a convention floor all night was already making her feet hurt).

But she couldn't for the life of her decide between  _skirt and pants!_

Turning towards her bed, Maiye decided to consult the two-year-old that was currently lying on it, leaning her head over the side and looking at her upside down.

"What do you think, Yumi?" she asked. "Skirt or pants?"

Yumi promptly giggled and pointed towards both options. "That one!"

"Gee," Maiye rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot." She should have known better than to ask for fashion advice from a toddler who once wore a pink tutu with a cowboy hat and polka-dotted rain boots – on a  _sunny day,_  no less.

In the meantime, Maiye was still making her decision: skirt or pants? It should  _not_ be this difficult! Yet, like nearly everything else in her life, Maiye had managed to overcomplicate this one as well.

She sighed. Maybe she should stop worrying so much. She had done so much of that back in New Yorksea, after everything that happened, and what had it gotten her?

A whole lot of trouble.

"Life is short," she declared. "I'm wearing the skirt!"

* * *

Meanwhile, about ten minutes away, Hiro was getting ready for this date as well, but in a far different manner. He was seated in front of his computer screen with a thousand internet tabs open, each with a different article about first dates and – _gulp_ – first kisses. He could feel himself growing more anxious by the minute as he read the latest article about going in for that first kiss.

His friends were overjoyed, of course, when they heard that Maiye had finally asked him out ("My kind of woman." Gogo had approved), and given him various pieces of advice for this date. Honey had told him to compliment her outfit (since she probably spent a lot of time on it), be his sweet self, and of course, have fun.

"But," clarified Fred. "Not  _too_ much fun. It is a first date, after all."

"You can hold her hand," said Wasabi. "But keep the rocket in your pocket."

It was then that Hiro politely excused himself from the conversation under the pretense of finishing schoolwork.

But back to the task at hand.

_Step 1: Make eye contact._

Okay, that was easy enough. Looking into her eyes – he could do that, no problem (she had really pretty eyes).

_Step 2: Break the touch barrier._

Which probably meant holding her hand or the like. If she didn't push him away, then yes, very  _very_ doable. But what if his palms got sweaty? It said nothing about that. What was he supposed to do if that happened?

_Step 3: Draw her in slowly._

Judging by this article, that meant moving even closer than before (well, assuming they were close in the first place). This step also stressed the importance of not using a first kiss as an excuse to get too familiar, so to speak.  _Be a gentleman._

"Alright," Hiro mumbled to himself. "I'm a gentleman."  _I'm a gentleman._

_Step 4: Go in for the kiss._

The hardest step of all. This would definitely require some practice.

Looking towards his hand, Hiro did his best to picture Maiye's face there instead. Following the article, he tried to look towards where he pictured her eyes being, and then her mouth.  _Gulp._  Then, leaning in slowly, he pressed his lips against his hand.

"Hiro?"

 _Oh no._  Spinning around, Hiro spotted Aunt Cass entering his bedroom, and immediately tore his hand away from his mouth.

Instead, he smiled brightly, acting like he hadn't been practicing kissing on his hand.

"Hey, Aunt Cass!"

"Honey, what are you doing?" she asked him. "Didn't your date say she was picking you up at six?"

Widening his eyes, Hiro quickly glanced down at his watch.

5:40 pm.

_Crap._

"Oh  _man!"_  Springing up from his chair and dashing towards his closet, Hiro immediately began yanking clothes out at a rapid pace and throwing them onto his bed. He couldn't believe it had gotten so  _late…_

"Slow down, kiddo!" said Aunt Cass. "No need to worry, you still have a little bit of time." She leaned down towards his computer screen. "What are you researching, anyways?"

"Aunt Cass!"

She pulled away from the screen, but not before she saw what he had been looking up previously. She couldn't help but hide a slight giggle behind her hand.

Hiro glared at her. "It's not funny!"

"Oh sweetie," Aunt Cass chuckled a little and smiled down at him. "I'm not making fun of you, I promise. I just think it's adorable, that's all."

Face burning, Hiro stubbornly refused to respond as he continued sorting through the clothes on his bed. To tell the truth, her laughing didn't bother him all that much. It was almost a relief to hear since… since… He stole a glance over towards the other side of the room, which was now permanently blocked off by the shoji screen.

Aunt Cass didn't miss a beat. Going over to her nephew, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug as he buried his face in her shoulder.

"I know, sweetie." she said. "I know."

"I just…" Hiro's voice remained quiet when he spoke. "I just wish he was here. He'd know what to say."

Aunt Cass nodded and gently rubbed her nephew's back. "I miss him too."

"He would have liked her." said Hiro. "Would've teased me like crazy, but he would have liked her."

"Do  _you_  like her?" asked Aunt Cass.

Hiro nodded quietly. "I really, really do."

"Well then," Aunt Cass pulled back and smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure he'd adore her."

Hiro smiled back, a little sadly. "Thanks, Aunt Cass."

"C'mon then," she said, gesturing towards the piles of clothes scattered on his bed. "Let's get you ready."

* * *

At precisely six o'clock sharp, Maiye found herself standing outside of the address Hiro had given her earlier, the Lucky Cat Café. It appeared to be closed at the moment, but he told her that if she just knocked, his aunt would let her in, no problem.

Sure enough, when Maiye approached the door, she looked through the glass and saw a woman standing behind the counter. Before she could even knock, the woman saw Maiye and immediately went to let her in.

"Hi there," she said with a smile. "Are you here for my nephew?"

"I am." Maiye smiled back at the woman and extended her hand. "I'm Maiye Barton, you must be Hiro's aunt."

"Yes indeed," said Aunt Cass, shaking Maiye's hand. "Just call me Cass. Come on in, Hiro's probably still getting ready." She laughed lightly and led Maiye up a flight of stairs to a small apartment above the café.

Once they were up, Aunt Cass immediately rushed over to the other flight of stairs and called to her nephew.

"Hiro!" she shouted. "There's a very lovely lady here to see you!" She turned towards Maiye. "I'm sure he'll be down in a minute. In the meantime, make yourself at home."

"Thank you." While she waited for her date, Maiye turned around and began glancing over some of the framed pictures on the wall, stopping on one photo in particular. The subject was a little boy with messy black hair, holding a kitten and smiling at the camera with an adorable, gap-toothed grin. Maiye couldn't help but smile affectionately.

"I'm coming!"

A set of footsteps suddenly came echoing down the stairs, accompanied by an all too familiar voice. Ah, so Hiro was finally ready. Only a couple minutes late, but that was alright. Maiye turned around to face him, intending to form a good-natured joke at his tardiness, but stopped short when she saw him.

_Oh my._

Hiro was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, putting him at an equal height with the already-tall Maiye. Instead of his usual hoodie, he was wearing a black leather jacket with a blue t-shirt, tan cargo pants, and his nicest sneakers. He'd brushed out his hair so that it looked especially nice, and after a bit of prodding, Aunt Cass had even convinced him to shave.

It was about two seconds later that Maiye realized she was doing nothing but openly staring at him.

Well, who could blame her? Hiro just looked so…  _wow._

Okay, she had to get a grip here. She quickly composed herself as she managed to squeak out a hello.

"Hi." He smiled at her, a smile that, on more than one occasion, had caused Maiye's heart to flip inside her chest.

"You look really nice." She blurted out. No reason not to be honest, after all.

"Thanks." Hiro smiled at her again. "So do you."

Maiye blushed. "Thank you."

It was at this moment that Aunt Cass decided she wanted some photos of the two of them, since they looked so darn cute, and rushed off to find her camera phone. Once she returned, she had Maiye and Hiro stand side by side in front of the fireplace.

Hiro momentarily mourned for the step that had cost him his height, but once Maiye wrapped an arm around his shoulders for the photo, all his worries melted away. Maiye, in turn, was enjoying the feeling of his arm around her waist as his aunt snapped photo after photo.

"Aunt Cass," Hiro said through his smile. "I think you've got it."

"One more!" she insisted. "Maiye blinked!"

Maiye laughed lightly as Hiro's aunt took one final photo, before finally putting away her phone.

"You two look so cute." She said afterwards. "I'm definitely going to get some of these printed."

"Yeah, thanks," Hiro shifted his stance and turned to Maiye. "We should probably get going soon?"

"Oh, that's right," said Aunt Cass. "You have a trolley to catch. Are you sure you don't need a ride?"

"No, that's okay." said Hiro. "We should be good."

"Alright then, you two have fun now!" Aunt Cass leaned over and gave Hiro a hug, before giving one to Maiye as well. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will!" Hiro waved as he started walking towards the stairs, before Aunt Cass suddenly leaned in and hugged him again.

"Last hug!"

 _Aww._ Maiye found herself smiling at the adorable scene before her. After she said goodbye to Hiro's aunt, she followed Hiro downstairs and out the front door. From there, the two of them began their short walk to the trolley stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admittedly, I thought this chapter would turn out much, much different. I wanted to get right to the date, but I realized I couldn't do that without a bit of exposition first. Before I knew it, the story ran away from me and this chapter was about seven pages long (I've noticed this story tends to do that to me. Not the rest of them, just this one). Since I didn't want to squeeze in too much information at once, the date will be the primary focus of the next chapter, guaranteed.
> 
> On another note, Wasabi's advice to Hiro in this chapter is the same advice my boyfriend's father gave him before we started going out. I thought it would be funny to see that line used again on the younger generation xD
> 
> Thank you so much for your feedback, hope you're all doing well :)
> 
> -Liz
> 
> P.S. Speaking of the younger generation, do yourselves a favor and take Baymax's advice in this chapter. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

As Maiye and Hiro began their walk towards the trolley stop, Hiro turned towards Maiye.

“So I’m curious,” said Hiro. “How did your professor manage to score tickets to this thing anyways?”

“Alistar Krei,” answered Maiye. “Incidentally, he owes her a favor. She babysat him as a child.”

Hiro’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Maiye said as she continued walking. “Apparently instead of just watching her television all the time, he took it apart instead.” She laughed. “Saved her a lot of money on repair services.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” Hiro chuckled. “I used to do that when I was little too. The only difference is,” he grinned. “I didn’t always put it back together.”

“Now _that_ doesn’t surprise me.” said Maiye. “Your lab is a mess!”

“Well!” Hiro squared his shoulders indignantly. “I guess we can’t alllllll have parts organized in alphabetical drawers on our desk, now can we?”

“Numerical by serial number,” corrected Maiye. “But thank you!”

“I honestly don’t know how you do it.” Hiro shook his head. “I’d lose patience after about, oh, I don’t know, five minutes!”

“If you think _that’s_ bad,” Maiye grinned. “You should have seen me as a kid. I was _always_ picking up after all the adults in my life. Drove my dad crazy.”

“I can see that.”

“You’ve lived here longer,” Maiye turned towards Hiro. “Have you ever met my dad?”

Hiro faltered. “Um-“

“Phillip Barton,” explained Maiye. “Usually goes by Phil. Tall beefy guy, red hair, thinks he’s hilarious. Sound familiar?”

“Well-“

“I should probably also mention he’s the San Fransokyo chief of police. So if you ever commit a crime, he’s probably the guy you’ll meet.”

“Ahh, yeah,” Hiro laughed nervously and avoided her gaze. “Um, about that-“

“Oh my god.” Maiye’s eyes widened as she fixed her gaze entirely on Hiro. “What did you do?”

“Okay before I tell you,” Hiro said quickly. “You should know that it was a one-time thing that happened a long time ago. Well, last year, anyways.”

“Mhmm.” Maiye raised an eyebrow almost comically. “Let’s hear it.”

“Okay, so I was botfighting.” admitted Hiro as his shoulders sunk a little. “And I got caught.”

“Wait,” Maiye paused for a moment. “That’s a crime here?”

“Well, not _actually_ botfighting,” explained Hiro. “But betting on it, that’s the illegal part. But it wasn’t that bad actually, I got let off with a warning.”

“Oh good,” Maiye let out a sigh of relief. “For a second, I thought you’d robbed a convenience store or something.”

Hiro’s nervousness was replaced by a devilish grin. “That’s my _next_ objective.”

“Oh no,” laughed Maiye. “I’m doomed.”

“Oh yeah,” Hiro wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m just _full_ of trouble.”

“And I’m spending an evening alone with you.” Maiye chuckled. “Clearly, I’m insane.”

“Out of your mind.” said Hiro seriously.

Maiye merely smiled at him in response, and Hiro couldn’t help but offer a grin back.

“So, the botfighting thing,” Hiro began. “That-That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

“Nah.” Maiye waved her hand dismissively. “It didn’t happen again, right?”

“Definitely not.” said Hiro. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“You and me both. Speaking of which,” Maiye paused in her tracks. “There’s the trolley.”

Following her gaze, Hiro saw that she was right. The trolley had just pulled up to the stop, but thanks to the large crowd that had formed, was starting to fill up quickly.

“C’mon,” he said, taking hold of Maiye’s hand. “We can sit on the outside.”

Maiye’s eyes widened a little. “Is that safe?”

“Of course!” exclaimed Hiro, pulling her along. “Plus it’s _fun!”_

Going over towards the seat, he let Maiye climb up first before plopping down onto the space next to her.

“I guess it’s official then,” declared Maiye. “I am _not_ in New Yorksea anymore!”

“Yay!”

“Yay indeed!” Maiye laughed happily as the trolley began moving out of the station.

Throughout the duration of the ride, the pair continued their conversation, right up until they arrived at the place the convention was being held at.

Looking around at the large crowd and banners displayed every ten feet, Hiro turned towards his date.

“I think there might be a convention tonight.”

“Ooh, _so_ observant.” noted Maiye with a grin. “Just let me find the tickets in my purse.”

“Take your time.” said Hiro.

“Ah, here we are.” Maiye pulled out the envelope as they arrived at the front of the rapidly-moving line. “Just in time, too.”

“Tickets please.” requested the attendant.

After Maiye handed them off, it wasn’t long before she and Hiro were ushered along and found themselves standing on the convention floor.

And the first word to come out of their mouths?

_“Woah.”_

Everywhere they looked, the two young geniuses saw the most amazing tech that either of them had ever laid eyes on. From robotic dogs and self-cooking kitchens to holographic computers and pocket-sized refrigerators, anything and everything that was new was on display tonight.

And they fully planned on exploring it all.

After attending the opening keynote, Hiro and Maiye immediately wandered off to check out as many exhibits and attend as many events as was physically possible. Sure, they probably could have seen more using the old “divide and conquer” method, but this was a _date._ No matter how much amazing tech was on display tonight, Hiro and Maiye’s main goal was to enjoy each other’s company.

One of their favorite exhibits that they wound up looking at was a new display of robotic animals. Hiro couldn’t help but smile as he watched Maiye affectionately play with a robotic puppy she had taken a liking to. Hiro had his fair share of petting it but, as he found himself explaining to Maiye, he was more of a cat person.

“Too bad for yooou!” she singsonged.

“Hey, I happen to adore Mochi.” He said. “When he’s not climbing over my keyboard.”

Maiye laughed in response. “That’s what two-year-olds are for.” She said. “Honestly, the amount of times my baby sister has wanted to ‘help’ me with my work is ridiculous.”

“Aww,” teased Hiro. “She looks up to you!”

“She’s a tiny little thing.” shrugged Maiye. “She looks up to everyone.” But Hiro could tell that she was pleased.

A moment later, they were finished with the animals and the pair decided to attend a short film together. It was just their luck that they both wound up in the very back row.

What was this movie about again? Biomedicine? Supercomputers? Some strange mix of both? Hiro wasn’t really paying attention. The only thing he could focus on at the moment was Maiye’s beautiful face, illuminated by the glow of the screen. Her eyes were as wide as a child’s, and her lips were slightly parted as she took in every word, every detail being presented to her tonight.

She was truly in her element.

Hiro almost felt bad for contemplating if now would be a good time to try the old yawn and stretch technique. Should he or shouldn’t he? Well, if he changed his mind, he could always pass if off as an actual yawn instead.

He had only just turned back towards the screen and placed a hand on his neck to try and prepare himself when he spotted Maiye moving out of the corner of his eye, stretching her arms. That made sense enough, she was an athlete after all, having discussed her previous high-school career in track and field at some point in the evening-

It was only a moment later that Hiro realized Maiye’s arm was draped around his shoulders, almost protectively at that, and he was beginning to wonder if this all wasn’t just some wonderful dream and if he was due to wake up soon.

When he turned around to glance at Maiye, however, he found her looking sheepish and biting her lower lip nervously.

“Is this okay?” she asked quickly. “Did you want me to move or-?”

Hiro surprised himself by meeting her gaze and reaching a hand up to cover hers.

“Don’t you dare.”

Smiling in relief, Maiye once again turned her attention back towards the film, leaving her arm in place. Hiro, meanwhile, took the opportunity to rest his head against her shoulder as his hand remained happily on top of hers.

All too soon though, the movie ended and everyone began exiting the theater. Hiro and Maiye were forced to get up from their seats, but found themselves joining hands as they began navigating through the crowd, fingers intertwining almost on instinct.

They stayed that way as they explored the next few exhibits, because at this point, it was just too right not to. Even when they had to separate for a few moments to accomplish some simple task, they both felt… _incomplete_ as they did so. It wasn’t until they held hands again and shared a secret smile with each other that things finally seemed to fall into place.

Neither of them could deny it anymore: there was definitely something there.

Just what it was wouldn’t be determined until later in the evening, when they both realized that they were starting to get hungry. It was then that Hiro discovered that Maiye had never tired any of San Fransokyo’s world famous ice cream by the sea.

“I’ve had ice cream before, Hiro.” Maiye laughed. “I buy it from the store.”

“But you haven’t had _this_ ice cream!” insisted Hiro. “This isn’t one you can buy from a store! It’s homemade! Everyone who’s tried it has loved it!” He glanced quickly around the convention center. “I think they have a stand here, actually.”

“Oh great,” Maiye rolled her eyes as Hiro began pulling her along. “We’ll be searching all night.”

It was only a couple minutes later that they actually found said stall and got in line for it, with Hiro continually reminding Maiye of just how good this ice cream was, and how worthwhile it was going to be in the end. If it were anyone else going on like this, Maiye would have been annoyed. But since it was Hiro, well, then it was adorable.

Once they got to the front of the line, Maiye ordered black raspberry in a dish, while Hiro ordered a vanilla sugar cone topped with gummy bears. After Hiro insisting that he pay for Maiye’s (since she had gotten the tickets to the entire event in the first place), they went to a small bench outside the convention center to enjoy their food.

As they sat down, Hiro took out his cell phone and pressed the video record button, training it on Maiye.

She raised an eyebrow. “What on earth are you doing?”

“It’s your first ever San Fransokyo ice cream.” said Hiro. “Therefore, it’s a historic moment that you’ll want to remember forever.”

Maiye merely shook her head and chuckled. “You’re silly.” After muttering about how “this had better not wind up on the internet or else,” she raised the spoon to her mouth and took a bite.

The look on her face made Hiro very glad he had this video.

“Fine, I admit it.” Maiye said. “It’s amazing.”

“Best ice cream you’ve ever had?”

“Yes. And yours is dripping.”

“Whoops.” Hiro wound up setting his phone down as he tried to lick the ice cream off his hand.

Maiye smiled. “Let me help you with that.” Reaching into her purse, she pulled out some napkins and wiped away the remaining ice cream.

“Thanks.” Hiro caught himself smiling again.

“Anytime.”

The pair finished their ice cream and threw away the trash, before turning their gaze towards the city skyline that lay before them. Settling back against the bench, Maiye was the first to speak up.

“That really is a beautiful view.”

“Mhmm.” responded Hiro, resting his head back against her shoulder.

Maiye gave a sigh of contentment. “ _So_ much better than N.Y. Sea.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Lots.” Turning around, she leaned her head on top of Hiro’s. “I’m never going back there.” she murmured.

“You’re not?” asked Hiro.

“No.” said Maiye firmly. “There’s nothing and no one left there for me anymore.”

“Well, what about here?” Hiro pulled back and found himself looking directly into her eyes. “Is there anything left for you here?”

Maiye didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.

It was hard to determine which one of them first initiated it, since they both leaned in at the exact same time. But for whatever was happening between them that night, whatever they both were feeling, it all culminated when Hiro and Maiye’s lips finally, inevitably met.

Anything either of them had researched or read up on earlier in the evening was completely forgotten during the quiet hesitancy of that very first kiss. Lips moved gently and noses bumped a time or two as Maiye brought her hand up to hold onto the back of Hiro’s head, while his in turn rested lightly on her shoulder. The entire kiss had a touch of hesitancy to it as both figured out what worked and what didn’t, subconsciously storing it away in their minds for future use.

After pulling away, they both lingered for a brief minute, eyes closed and foreheads touching, until Hiro forced himself to open his eyes. Golden brown met misty blue as reality settled in, and Maiye’s lips curved upwards in a tender, soft smile as a few small giggles slipped out. Hiro soon found himself smiling back and even laughing a bit as he wrapped her in his arms, overwhelmed with happiness and love and who knows what else.

And for that moment, that sweet, fleeting moment, the hurts of the past and the insecurities of the present were as far away as the city skyline, still present but no longer a concern for either of them, as they sat tucked in each other’s embrace.

For that moment, all the world was completely right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I've updated this story, it's been an extremely difficult time for me. My grandfather passed away last week, and it's hitting me and my family really hard. I've always been very close to him, and I miss him so much. Since it happened, I've spent most of my time with my family, especially taking care of my grandmother. 
> 
> I updated this over on fanfiction.net on Memorial Day, two days prior, so I thought it might help for me to update here as well. I truly hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because I had enjoyed writing it. I think that working on this story is going to help in the healing process, because it gives me something to do, since I haven't felt like drawing lately. 
> 
> Thank you for your support, and I hope you are all doing well.
> 
> -Liz


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Since I've posted the last chapter, it hasn't been an easy time for me. During the same week, my grandfather was taken to the hospital, and he passed away only a day later. Since we were all very close to him, his loss has hit my family and I very hard. Currently, we're all trying to take things one day at a time, but I know that I will always love and miss him for the rest of my life. I can't remember if I've already mentioned it, my mind has been all over the place lately because my family is going to England, but I just thought I'd let you know.
> 
> I have found that writing this story is helping me to keep my mind busy, so I'm going to keep working on it. Since this chapter is another important one, I actually wound up editing it several times lol. Again, I would just like to say thank you so much for all the reviews you gave the last chapter. Not only do I enjoy reading them, but they help me improve as well :) Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

During the next month, as the holidays were rapidly approaching, so was that one period of time that every college student dreaded the most: final exams. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the  _best_  time for a fifteen-year-old genius to be thinking about his love life, but after his spectacular date with Maiye at the expo, Hiro could do little else.

She truly was an amazing person. From the way her fingers flew over a keyboard to the way her eyes would light up as she talked about her work, it was clear that she was ready to make her mark on the world. Not to mention the fact that she was  _utterly_  gorgeous. The amount of times she had caught Hiro staring at her when she wasn't looking was starting to become embarrassing (not that she really minded, of course).

No doubt about it, Hiro had fallen for her.  _Hard._  He couldn't stop thinking about her, or that kiss they had shared at the expo. Hiro didn't know much about first kisses, but he had enough knowledge on the subject to know that the one he had shared with Maiye was, well,  _nice._  So nice in fact that it was starting to keep him up at night and sometimes find its way into his dreams.

Unfortunately for them, they hadn't had an opportunity since then to share another one like it.

Take Tuesday, for example. Tuesday evening, they were alone in his lab, in the final stages of working on their semester project. Maiye mentioned she had never seen a certain movie that Hiro happened to love, and with Hiro being Hiro, they took a short break to watch it.

There they were, on the little couch, with Hiro's laptop sitting in between them. He'd given Maiiye his hoodie to drape over her legs in case she got cold (she didn't), and her head was rested comfortably on his shoulder as she stared at the screen. Pure bliss.

He was going to do it. She'd looked up at him for a brief moment with those eyes of hers, smiling that soft smile that only he ever seemed to see. They were so close,  _so_  close.

It was just his luck that his friends burst in a moment later, wanting to know if the two of them wanted to go out and get some pizza.

They meant well of course, Hiro knew that. And it didn't hurt that they all seemed to like Maiye just fine. Honey, in particular, had bonded with her instantly over their shared love of schoolwork and fashion, and had all but taken the girl under her wing. Hiro often spotted them walking across campus together on more than one occasion. Yet, despite all the time he and Maiye were spending together, impending finals, personal projects, and general everyday life were getting in the way of their budding relationship.

Oh, and to top it all off, there was a new enemy on the radar of Big Hero 6.

"Seriously?" Hiro had sighed heavily when he found out. Well, he was a smart kid. He should have known the period of relative peace that occurred after Callaghan's arrest, trial, and imprisonment couldn't possibly last forever.

"What can I say?" Wasabi shrugged his shoulders from his position on Hiro's old, worn couch. "Evil doesn't take a holiday."

"Fine." Hiro grumbled, plopping down next to him and crossing his arms. "Who are they?"

"They call themselves  _the Fujitas,_ " explained Wasabi, opening up his laptop. "They're a gang of roller girls believed to be responsible for a string of crimes around the Bay Area. I got their profiles from the local police department."

"A bunch of girls on roller skates." Gogo deadpanned from behind him. "Now  _there's_ one I haven't seen before."

"Yeah, but we shouldn't underestimate them." said Wasabi. "From what it says here, they're no joke." He pulled up the first file on his computer, and a mugshot of an Asian woman popped up on the screen. Her dark black hair was pulled into a high bun, accented by a pair of chopsticks, and one of her brown eyes was covered by a mean-looking eyepatch.

"That's Kyoko, their leader." explained Wasabi. "Thirty-two years old, long record that dates back to her teens. Apparently pretty popular on the botfighting scene, she was known for rigging the matches to go in her favor."

Hiro froze and bit his lip. He had seen her before.

"The next one is Ren." Wasabi tapped a key, and a photograph of a surly-looking girl with long, dyed purple hair popped up on screen. "Second in command, twenty-two years old. Similar record to Kyoko's, and pretty much her assistant when it comes down to it."

"Which means," interjected Fred through a mouthful of pizza. "She probably does most of the dirty work."

"Not quite." Wasabi pulled up the last file, which displayed an image of a girl with blonde hair dressed all in pink, smiling sweetly for the camera.

Seated on the other side of Wasabi, Honey's eyes widened. " _She's_  a criminal?"

"She's a criminal." said Wasabi. "Her name is Aimi, and she's fifteen years old. Former foster child, allegedly taken in by Kyoko after she was kicked out of her third home. And arguably," Wasabi frowned. "The most dangerous one of all."

"What's their motive?" asked Gogo. "Any ideas?"

"The crimes they've committed thus far have been completely random, each one different from the last. So as far as the police know," Wasabi shrugged his broad shoulders. "Nothing."

"I think I might have an idea as to who they're working for." said Hiro.

"Wait," Fred's eyes widened. "You think they're  _working_  for somebody?"

"Who?" asked Honey.

"It's just a theory," began Hiro. "But at the last botfight I ever went to, the one with the eyepatch - Kyoko - was the referee."

"And you think she was rigging the fight?" asked Wasabi.

"Probably." shrugged Hiro. "Not only was she really surprised that I won, but she also seemed to be on a first-name basis with my competitor."

"Who were you up against that night?" questioned Honey. "Do you remember?"

"I do." Hiro sighed grimly. "It was Yama."

"Yama?" Wasabi raised an eyebrow. "The crime lord?"

"But I thought he was in prison!" exclaimed Honey.

"Check again." Gogo turned the screen of her phone towards the others and pointed. "According to this article, he escaped last month."

"Uh oh." Fred's eyes widened. "That's not good."

"I wonder what they're planning." said Honey.

"Whatever it is, judging by these files," Gogo shook her head. "It's not going to be pretty."

"Look at this." Wasabi opened some police reports onto his computer. "It says here that all three of them are wanted for robbery, property damage, assault, and…" He gulped. "Attempted murder."

Hiro paled.

"Don't the police have  _anything_  on them?" asked Honey. "Any leads?"

"A few." replied Wasabi. "They've been keeping an eye on an abandoned factory by the waterfront where they think their headquarters might be."

"I say we follow them." Gogo said firmly. "Put a stop to their work before they hurt anybody else."

"I don't think it's that simple." Hiro shook his head. "You guys, Yama was ready to 'teach me a lesson' just for beating him in a  _botfight._  If he's really the one these girls are working for, there's no telling what he might do."

"Simple then." Gogo leaned over and shut Wasabi's laptop on his fingers, causing him to yelp. "We don't let him catch us."

"The sooner we figure out their plan," Wasabi clutched his hand and spoke through gritted teeth. "The sooner we can take down their whole operation."

"And stop anyone else from getting hurt." said Honey.

"Yeah," Fred grinned reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, bud."

"It's settled then." Honey stood up and gathered her purse. "We can meet on the docks by the waterfront at 6:30."

"Ahh," Hiro rose from his seat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can it be at 7 instead?"

Gogo raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"I-I'm supposed to study with Maiye tonight."

"Ohh, I see." Wasabi gave Hiro a knowing smile. "Spending time with your lady love?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions now," Hiro blushed. "She's not  _quite_ my lady yet…"

"Hang on," Fred turned towards Hiro.  _"Yet?"_

"I don't get it, Hiro." Coming around to the front of the couch, Gogo shook her head. "You've already been out with her once and you both had a great time. She obviously enjoys spending time with you or else she wouldn't be around so much. What's stopping you?"

"I'm guessing it's finals." reasoned Honey.

"Figures." Wasabi made a face. "Anyway Hiro, have you thought about what you're getting Maiye for Christmas?"

Hiro's expression became puzzled. "I'm getting her something for Christmas?"

The others all exchanged looks as Fred sighed and draped an arm around Hiro's shoulders. "Walk with me, my friend," he said. "And let me give you a few pointers…"

* * *

 

Later on, at seven o'clock, the members of Big Hero 6 all met at the designated spot by the waterfront. As they began the trek to the abandoned warehouse, they began to chitchat about how their preparations for final exams and the holiday season were coming along. During this conversation, Wasabi asked Hiro how his studying with Maiye had gone.

"Not as well as I hoped." Hiro frowned. "She had to leave early."

"That sucks." Fred said to him sympathetically. "Well, at least you got to kiss her goodbye, right?"

"No!" cried Hiro. "I've been trying to kiss her again since the expo, but every time the moment comes up, something happens!"

"No rush, man." assured Wasabi. "You'll get your chance."

"According to leading scientists," said Baymax. "Extended periods of kissing are proven to contribute to a reduced blood pressure and greater self-esteem."

"Listen to the robot, Hiro." Fred nodded solemnly. "He knows what he's talking about."

"Guys, can we finish this little therapy session later?" said Gogo. "We're here."

Sure enough, the group came to a stop in front of the abandoned factory. To the average eye, it looked completely empty and decrepit. But as the members of Big Hero 6 knew all too well, appearances could be deceiving.

"Baymax," said Hiro. "Scan."

"I am detecting signs of life." replied the robot. "Four females, all in excellent physical health, mental health to be determined."

Honey was puzzled. "Four?"

Hiro shrugged. "Probably just a gang member."

"My sensors indicate that they are all armed." continued Baymax. "Please exercise extreme caution."

"Don't worry." said Fred determinedly. "We got this."

In order to draw less attention to themselves, the team decided that each of them should pair off. Fred went with Wasabi, Honey went with Gogo, and Hiro stuck with Baymax.

Going in from above, Hiro found an opening in the roof and proceeded to crawl through, with Baymax just barely fitting in behind him. Once they were in, Hiro navigated the walkways hanging from above, and followed Baymax's sensors towards the center of the building.

"Does anyone see anything?" whispered Wasabi from his position outside a window.

"Yes." Honey responded from behind some crates. "There's two of them on the floor. From the looks of it, it's Kyoko and Ren."

"What are they saying?" asked Wasabi.

"I can't really tell," Honey narrowed her eyes. "But I know I heard Yama's name."

"Which means…" Gogo made a face. "Hiro was probably right. How are we going in?"

"I'm not sure." said Hiro. "Let's get them on tape first so we have something for the police. Baymax," He turned towards the robot. "Activate surveillance mode."

Turning on the video camera, Baymax centered it on the two women in the center of the floor, both of whom appeared to be in deep conversation. Within seconds, the team was able to hear everything they were saying.

"I told you before," Kyoko, the one with the eyepatch, was saying. "The boss doesn't want to wait until tomorrow for the job on Bay Street. He specifically said it had to be done  _tonight."_

"True, but if we do it  _tonight,"_  Ren, the purple-haired girl, said sardonically. "We're going to get  _caught._  And if we get  _caught,_  we'll go to  _jail._  And if we go to  _jail,_  dear old Yama's plan simply  _isn't going to work."_

"The sooner we get the parts," hissed Kyoko. "The sooner we can build the robots. And the sooner we build the robots…" She gave Ren a knowing smile. "Well, you do the math."

What was she talking about? Parts? Robots?  _Plan?_  From the looks of what Kyoko and Ren were talking about, Yama and the Fujitas were planning something  _big._

But before Hiro could discover exactly what it was, a high-pitched, bone chilling voice from behind completely shattered his train of thought.

" _Supriiiiiiiisssse!"_

It was only half a second later that the young genius was forced to dodge a huge, spiked ball hanging from a chain.

When he looked up from the ground, he saw the third and final member of the Fujitas standing before him, a girl just about his age. She wore a light pink Lolita dress with short, puffy sleeves, trimmed with white lace. Her long, blonde hair sat delicately on her shoulders, accented by a pink rose in the same shade as her dress. Like the other two, she donned a pair of matching roller skates on her feet.

And her smile filled Hiro with absolute fear.

"Aimi?"

"Oh my!" she shrieked when he spoke. "We haven't even met, and you already know my name." she giggled. "I must be really special."

"Buuuuut," she sighed sadly as she began to idly swing her spiked ball around. "It really is rude to spy on poor, unsuspecting ladies, now isn't it?"

"It isn't spying," Hiro leaped to his feet and glared in her direction. "If you're up to something illegal!"

"Now now," Aimi tutted and shook her head. "There's no need to behave that way," A slow grin spread across her face. "I'm  _certain_  we could work something out."

"In your dreams!" Hiro shot back and began rushing towards where he last saw Baymax. A sick feeling formed in his stomach when he realized the robot was nowhere to be found.

He turned angrily towards Aimi. "Where's Baymax?!"

"Not here!" The blonde girl raised her weapon with a maniacal giggle and swung it towards Hiro.

Readying his stance, Hiro prepared himself to dodge again. But before Aimi could attempt to strike, something suddenly flew up and stuck itself in her shoulder.

"Oww!" she yelped. "That hurt!" A second later, she lost consciousness and fell limply to the floor.

"Huh?" Confused, Hiro leaned forward to inspect the foreign object. As he did so, he saw a silver flash out of the corner of his eye. As he looked up, he caught a brief glimpse of a figure running away.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Stop!"

Pumping his legs, Hiro ran down the walkway, which led to an outdoor fire escape that ran the length of the building. As he did so, he finally registered the voices of his friends echoing in his helmet.

"Hiro!" cried Honey. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" He answered back. "Where's Baymax?"

"On your left!"

Looking up, Hiro saw Baymax flying by his side, safe and sound, while Fred clung to his back.

"Thought you could use a hand!"

Smiling, Hiro jumped the short distance from the fire escape onto Baymax's back. As he locked in place, Fred used his superjump to land safely on the ground.

"Thanks, Fred!"

"Anytime, bro!"

Turning towards Baymax, Hiro patted the robot's back.

"Glad to see you're safe, buddy."

"My armor is strong enough to protect me from attacks." he explained simply.

"C'mon then!" said Hiro, bracing into position. "Let's catch them! Thrust!"

Activating his thrusters, Baymax propelled forward, chasing after the mysterious figure as they reached the end of the fire escape and leaped onto the rooftops, never slowing down.

"They're pretty fast," noted Hiro, eyes squinting in the darkness. "Can you still scan them?"

"Scan complete." said Baymax. "Target is a female, five feet nine inches, one hundred and sixty pounds. Her blood type is A positive."

"No name?"

"My scans can only list information about their health." responded Baymax. "Access to personal information is prohibited."

Hiro sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Glancing up, he then realized the figure was beginning to slow down. Yet, although it was clear that she was growing weary, she never stopped running.

"We can catch her, Baymax!" cried Hiro. "Just a little more!"

With a burst, the robot flew forward until he and Hiro had caught up with the running figure.

"Hey!" Hiro yelled over the wind. "Stop! I want to talk to you!"

The figure ignored him and kept going forward, legs moving at a top speed.

"I don't want to fight you!" insisted Hiro. "I just want to know who you are!"

Again, the figure remained stubbornly silent as she navigated the rooftops of San Fransokyo. Even from his distance, Hiro could now hear her starting to breathe heavily from exhaustion. Yet, when he tried to take a closer look at her face, he saw nothing through the darkness.

Hiro sighed. Whoever this mystery girl was, she sure wasn't making this easy for him. As a last ditch effort, he gripped tightly onto Baymax's back and tried to steer him in the girl's direction.

"Look, you don't have to keep running! Can't we just- AAAAAHHH!"

And, while trying to play diplomat and make peace with this person, Hiro had steered Baymax a little too far and knocked straight into the girl. She stumbled for a moment, trying desperately to regain her balance, before tumbling off the side of the building.

"Oh  _man!"_  cried Hiro, quickly flying Baymax towards the direction the girl had fallen.

To his relief, the girl had not gone off the roof. Instead, she had merely dropped onto a slightly lower part of the building, rolled over several times, and finally came to a stop near a roof access door.

As Baymax slowed down, Hiro brought him in for a landing on the rooftop and leaped off his back, running towards the spot where the girl was now struggling to stand.

"I'm so sorry!" cried Hiro, rushing forwards. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, honest! I was only just-!"

He stopped dead in his tracks.

Illuminated by the dim lighting of a security lamp, Hiro could now see the girl with absolute clarity. It was obvious by the way she carried herself that the fall had taken a bit of a toll on her, although she tried not to let it show. The light gray armor she wore was now cracked and splintered, and pieces were beginning to fall off. As she turned to look at Hiro, he was now able to see a familiar face framed by a mass of dirty, tangled red hair.

" _Maiye?"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that note, I'm leaving on a trip to England with my family this week, and I won't be back until the end of June. Therefore, if I end up doing any writing, whether it be on the plane or in my downtime, the next update to this story will occur when I get back.
> 
> Therefore, I will now graciously accept the tomatoes that I'm sure will be thrown at me. I'll just make them into a nice tomato salad ^-^
> 
> As always, reviews are both welcomed and appreciated. I'm especially curious to see your reactions this time around muahaha. Hope things are going well for you, and I'll see you in July!
> 
> -Liz


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I got back from England safe and sound, had a lovely trip with my family, and may or may not have spent the flight over cackling to my sister about this fanfic (which I actually managed to write for in the little down time that I had lol). I actually wound up getting a new idea for an original story while I was there as well, but of course, it's all in the very early stages of development. So not only is England a very beautiful country, it's also very inspiring :)
> 
> Believe it or not, it actually took me several tries to get this chapter going the way I wanted it to. Not only that, but the Word document for it wound up being so long, I had to split it in half. Yes, that's right everyone: I wrote two chapters at once. Hopefully that means the next update will be coming sooner rather than later.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Maiye struggled to catch her breath, while Hiro stood still in shock. However, when Maiye caught the expression on his face, she let out a heavy sigh.

"Before you ask," she said carefully. "Because I  _know_  for a fact that you are going to ask… it isn't like that. I'm not, under any circumstances, with  _them._ " She spat out the last word with no small amount of venom.

Hiro didn't respond, even as Baymax touched down next to him.

The robot turned to Maiye. "Hello," he said. "My sensors indicate that you have fallen."

"Huh?" Maiye raised an eyebrow. "Who's this?"

"I am Baymax," came the automated response. "Your personal healthcare companion."

" _Baymax?"_  questioned Maiye. "I thought that – Hiro said – what's going on here?"

"That's funny," Hiro finally found his voice and glared at Maiye. "I was just about to ask  _you_  that."

Maiye gave another sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Look, Hiro-"

"Hey man!"

Spinning around, Hiro saw Fred leaping onto the rooftop, with the rest of the team following close behind. While Wasabi and Honey were clearly fine, he noticed that Gogo was favoring her left arm.

Flipping up his hood, Fred wiped the arm of his suit across his forehead.

"Phew!" he said aloud. "There's  _my_  daily workout! You should have seen it Hiro, those girls are  _no joke._  That blonde one, for instance? She's  _nuts!_ Hit Gogo right in the arm with that nasty ball of hers."

"I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times," snapped Gogo. "I'm  _fine."_

"Honestly though," Fred shook his head. "That chick is a few eggs short of a full – Oh hey Maiye! What's up?"

"Wait,  _Maiye?"_  Wasabi looked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Wouldn't we like to know." said Hiro sarcastically.

"Well," Fred narrowed his eyes and peered at her outfit. "I know for a fact it's not Halloween, so you're outta luck there, kiddo!"

"Oh, will you open your eyes?" Hiro cut in. "Look where we found her! I think it's  _obvious_  what she's doing here!"

"Maiye," Honey's eyes widened with concern. "You… You don't  _work_  with those awful girls, do you?"

"No!" Maiye looked disgusted at the very prospect. "I-It isn't what it looks like!"

"Well it doesn't look very  _good._ " Hiro crossed his arms and threw her an icy glare.

"Stop jumping to conclusions," Maiye said firmly. "And let me  _speak_. You haven't got all the facts yet, Hiro."

"Then what  _are_  the facts?" asked Gogo. "About  _you?_ "

Maiye remained silent for a moment. Then, she released a long breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"For starters," she said calmly. "Let's get one thing straight. I  _do not_ work for or with those girls in any way, shape, or form. Actually…" she paused, unsure as to whether or not she should continue. But in the end, she decided  _why not?_

"I work with the police."

"The police?" asked Honey.

"Yes." said Maiye. "They needed someone doing surveillance work, and I just happened to be very bored. I didn't really do much at first, just sat around and watched, but one day I slipped up and let them see me. They came after me, and… I fought back."

"If you're working for the police," said Wasabi. "Then how come I didn't see your file?"

"Technically," said Maiye. "It doesn't exist."

"Does this mean you're a cop then?" asked Fred.

"No." clarified Maiye. "That's the  _last_  thing I am."

"I kind of figured by your outfit." Fred gestured towards her silvery-gray ensemble. "I mean, cops don't dress like that, right?"

"No, they don't." said Maiye, and another small chunk fell off of her suit. She grimaced. "I guess I'm going to have to fix it now."

"I bet Hiro could help you with that." offered Fred, turning towards the other young genius with a pointed smile.

Hiro didn't respond, even as the other team members exchanged glances and Maiye stepped forward to speak.

"Hiro-"

"Why didn't you tell me about this?!" he yelled at Maiye. "Huh? I want to know. Why didn't you say anything to me about this? Why did you  _lie?_ "

Maiye's jaw dropped. " _Excuse_  you?"

"You didn't tell me about  _any_  of this!" Hiro gestured wildly about him. "All that time we hung out and you never said a  _word!"_

"Now wait just a moment," Maiye gave Hiro a very firm look. "Don't you  _dare_  pin this all on me, I kept my mouth shut for a reason. And besides," she continued with a wave. "You didn't exactly mention  _this_ to me either."

"I – That's different!" he insisted.

"How?" Maiye was slowly starting to lose her patience. "Judging by the looks of it, your work and my work are very similar. The only difference is that I'm not losing my cool about it like you are."

"I am  _not_  losing my cool!" shouted Hiro.

"Your tone of voice would suggest otherwise." Maiye exhaled heavily. "Honestly Hiro, would you stop throwing a temper tantrum about all this? I know  _two-year-olds_  who have behaved better than you about such things."

_Ouch._

" _I'm_  immature for being upset?!" he yelled. "You know, I think I'm  _allowed_  to be upset about things that bother me!"

"You're making a big deal out of nothing."

"This  _isn't_  nothing, Maiye!"

"I don't have time for this." Maiye threw her hands into the air. "Not when I have criminals to catch."

Straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders, she spun around and disappeared into the night, leaving the members of Big Hero 6 in her wake. After she left, Gogo was the first to break the silence. Turning to Fred, she asked,

"What the  _hell_  was that?"

Fred merely offered a shrug in response, as if to say,  _Who knows?_

"This isn't making any sense." mused Honey.

"To be honest Hiro," came Wasabi's response. "You  _did_  lose your cool a little bit."

Hiro remained silent for a moment, not saying a word, before he finally spoke in a low, sullen voice.

"Let's go home, guys."

Gogo actually looked surprised. "You don't want to go after her?"

"She probably hasn't gone far." noted Honey.

"I bet Baymax could catch her." was Fred's suggestion.

"I said  _let's go home,_  guys."

The others all remained silent for a moment, before Honey finally broke the silence.

"Okay, Hiro."

Without a word, Hiro trudged over towards Baymax and started climbing on. As he did so, he could hear Fred talking to Gogo and Honey in a low voice, clearly trying not to be heard.

"She does know they're already gone," he told the girls. "Right?"

Hiro was just about to launch Baymax when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Wasabi looking up at him.

"I know you're upset at her." He said. "But just remember buddy, you don't have all the facts yet."

Hiro didn't respond. Instead, he latched himself onto Baymax, commanded him to fly, and took off into the night without another word.

* * *

The next few days passed by without any incident, although Hiro and Maiye barely spoke to one another. Wasabi had checked up on Maiye's file at the police station, and sure enough, she was the real deal. Yet, when he showed this information to Hiro, all he got in response was a nonchalant, "Hmm." before the young genius went back to his work. Needless to say, Honey found herself growing more and more concerned over the situation, and brought it up to Maiye as they were eating lunch together.

"What's there to be concerned about?" Maiye asked in between mouthfuls of fruit salad. "He sounds like he's already made up his mind."

"It's not like him, though." insisted Honey. "He never acts this way. He's usually the type of person who takes facts at their face value."

"Well, in this case," said Maiye. "He probably thinks the current fact are contradictory with the ones he thinks are true. Therefore…" she shrugged.

"He's being stubborn." Honey sighed. "Have you talked to him at all since it happened?"

"Only about project related things." responded Maiye. "And even then he doesn't say much."

"To be honest," said Honey. "You  _both_  said some very harsh things to each other."

Maiye wouldn't deny that. She already knew she wasn't a fun person to argue with. But if Hiro wasn't willing to talk things out, then… what else was there to do?

Glancing down at her watch, Maiye then realized that her next class was due to start in fifteen minutes.

"I'd better get going," she said, rising to her feet. "But I'll see you later Honey, all right?"

"Okay." Leaning forward, Honey enveloped Maiye in a quick hug, and the other girl flinched slightly.

"Just hang in there."

"Thanks." With a small smile, Maiye threw away her trash and walked out of the cafeteria.

Once she got outside, a cool breeze immediately hit her, causing her to shiver. Although San Fransokyo was certainly warmer than New Yorksea in December, the day was still chilly, and her light cardigan wasn't doing much to help.

She instinctively thought back to one time in Hiro's lab when it had been particularly cool, like today, and Maiye had neglected to bring a sweater. Ever the sweetheart, the fellow genius had offered her his blue SFIT hoodie. Since Maiye was about four inches taller and at least thirty pounds heavier than Hiro, of course it had been a little snug. They'd had a good laugh at that though, and Maiye had conveniently forgotten to give it back later on.

Maiye frowned. With the way things were looking right now, Hiro probably wouldn't be offering her his hoodie again anytime soon.

Oh, what was she so upset about anyways? She wondered to herself. He's only a  _boy._  And by all accounts, Hiro just didn't suit her anyways. He was always loud, his lab was a mess, and the boy was long overdue for a haircut. There had been several moments during the past few months when Maiye had contemplated grabbing a pair of scissors and doing the job herself.

Yet, on the rare occasions when he  _did_  come in with freshly trimmed locks? Maiye found herself feeling slightly disappointed.

She hadn't been lying to him that night. To Maiye, lies were the coward's way out, the easy way. And if there were two things in the world that Maiye Barton hated more than anything, it would be those. After all, she hadn't graduated her private high school at sixteen years old by skimping on her work or telling tall tales to teachers, now had she? No, Maiye always wanted the  _truth_  about certain matters, no matter how harsh it may be.

Another cool breeze passed, and Maiye scowled, realizing that something else was off about her right now thanks to this chilly weather – her lips were chapped. Rummaging through her bag for her lip balm, she tried to deter her mind away from another pair of lips that she couldn't help thinking of.

Her first kiss. Her first kiss  _ever._

It hadn't been like the movies, of course. No first kiss ever truly is. It had been awkward and nerve-wracking and she was pretty sure he'd whacked her nose a couple of times.

But it had been perfect.

And, as with all things perfect, she should have known it would never last.

Angry and frustrated, Maiye gave up the search for her lip balm and continued on her way, purposely ignoring the memory of a certain messy-haired boy, his certain gap-toothed smile, and the absolutely  _uncertain_  way her carefully-constructed mind turned to mush whenever she was around him.

_Stupid boy._

* * *

Meanwhile, someplace deep in the underground areas of San Fransokyo, someone else was thinking about Hiro Hamada's messy hair and gap-toothed grin, among other things. But rest assured, her thoughts were  _much_ brighter.

Humming along to her special playlist of favorite love songs, Aimi Fujita happily cut out yet  _another_ image from today's newspaper. She had already gone through every magazine in the headquarters (whether they belonged to her or not) up to the current issues, and now she was working her way through the newspapers as well. It was perfect really, so many pretty pictures and wonderful interviews for her to enjoy. It was a good thing he always seemed to make the front pages, for she liked the colored photos best of all. But even when he didn't, well, anything was better than nothing, right?

Once she had finished, Aimi gathered all the pictures she had collected and skipped down the long hallway towards the bedroom she shared with Kyoko and Ren – for now, at least. Then, picking up a role of duct tape she had swiped from one of the goons, she began taping the photographs over her bed.

Oh, he was just so handsome, now wasn't he?

Once she had finished, Aimi settled back on her fluffy pink duvet and surveyed her completed handiwork. Yes, it was perfect.

_Finally perfect._

With a giggle, Aimi took hold of her pillow and flopped back onto the bed, cuddling it to her chest and singing along to her music. As she did so, dozens of cutout photographs of Hiro Hamada watched faithfully over her.

He was going to be hers. He was, she just knew it. When Yama took over San Fransokyo with his big robots like he was planning and got back at him for that nasty bot fight, Aimi would have full run of the city  _and_  of Hiro.

And how delightful would  _that_  be!

Aimi smiled. She knew things would work out just fine for the two of them. After all, Yama had promised her it would.

And Yama never broke a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, probably not the most exciting chapter I've written thus far, but in the grand scheme of things, a pretty important one. I wanted to include more, but I like to keep all my chapters at a similar length, so I'm afraid it's going to have to wait until next time. I'm sure Aimi won't mind though. She seems to be keeping herself fully occupied at the moment.
> 
> I also want to thank everyone for all the follows, faves, and reviews you have given me throughout the course of this story. I know I've said it before, but it really does mean a lot to see that you guys are enjoying this :)
> 
> I'm currently making tweaks to the "official trailer" for this fanfic, and along with that, I'm working on a tumblr blog for it. I already have a personal blog over there, but it's currently a mishmash of everything I find interesting at the moment, and I'd rather not force you all to wade through post after post just to find what you're looking for XD
> 
> As always, reviews are appreciated, and I hope your summers are all going well :)
> 
> -Liz


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Happy August! Now that it's a new month, I think now's a good time to finally update this story of mine. Considering how things are going lately, I might try to aim for a new chapter twice a month, once on the first and once on the fifteenth. When school starts up for me again, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to keep that lol.
> 
> Another 'emotional' chapter here, as I say, before we finally return to the action. Well, unless you consider this to be action, that is. I had previously kept my chapters one particular length, but I think I'm going to try making them longer as I go along, starting with the chapter after this.
> 
> Thank you for all the feedback you've given me, I hope you guy enjoy :)
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

It wasn't until an ordinary Friday night that any major breakthroughs occurred in this odd situation. During a normal college week, few people, if ever, went to the labs on a Friday night. After a hard week of work, most students were ready to take a load off and celebrate the start of the weekend.

But finals were coming up, and in this case, all bets were off.

It was on this particular Friday night that Hiro shut himself up in his lab, away from his family, away from his friends, and  _especially_  away from Maiye. At a time like this, he couldn't afford to let himself be distracted by girls with secret double lives or all the conflicting thoughts they planted inside his head. He had to  _concentrate._

Which was probably why he was so unprepared to turn around and see a toddler standing by his desk.

She was quite small for her age, couldn't have been more than a couple feet tall, and was wobbling in place the way only a toddler could do. Her dark black hair was pulled back into a partial ponytail, and her brown, almond-shaped eyes were wide with curiosity. She had on a short-sleeved green and yellow dress with green leggings, and a little pair of yellow sneakers to match.

She suddenly looked up and grinned brightly at Hiro. "Hi!"

"Uh," Hiro was confused as to her presence. "Hi?"

Looking around the room, the little girl was obviously enthralled by everything she saw. Randomly pointing to one of the projects Hiro was working on, she spoke.

"Bot bot?" she asked.

Hiro was guessing that, judging by her surroundings, she meant to say "robot." Therefore, he responded,

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Hm." The little girl squinted her eyes and peered closely at the bundle of wires and metal. "No." she announced.

Hiro couldn't help but laugh at that. "No?" he asked.

The little girl nodded firmly. "No."

Fair enough, Hiro would be sure to take that into consideration. But onto more important matters.

"Who brought you here?" he asked.

The little girl's serious face immediately turned into a huge smile. "Sissy!" she declared.

"And where is sissy?" questioned Hiro.

The little girl simply giggled and didn't answer. That is, until a familiar voice echoed from the door.

"I thought I told you not to run off!"

Glancing around, Hiro saw none other than the very person he'd been trying to forget about all day standing at the entrance to his lab, hands on her hips, looking very cross with the tiny toddler standing before her.

"I finally found you!" Maiye said. "You haven't been making a mess in here, have you?"

The little girl simply laughed and rushed forward. "Sissy!"

Maiye rolled her eyes. "I'm going to take that as a no." She said, lifting the child into her arms. "But with you, I'm never really sure."

With a grin, the toddler settled comfortably into Maiye's arms, while the older girl turned awkwardly towards Hiro.

"I'm sorry she's bothering you." she said. "She ran off on me while I was working. I, uh, don't suppose she's told you her name, has she?"

"Nope." came Hiro's honest response.

"I thought not." Turning towards the toddler, Maiye said, "Yumi, this is Hiro, you remember I told you about Hiro? The one with all the robots?"

"Yeah." Yumi grinned. "Bot bots!"

Hiro couldn't help but smile back at the little girl. "You like robots then?"

Yumi laughed. "Yes!"

"That's because you like everything." Maiye said pointedly, but she was smiling as well.

Yumi then pointed a finger towards the floor. "Down." she said.

"Alright," said Maiye, placing her on the floor. "But don't you make a mess."

As Yumi began wandering the lab, Hiro turned towards Maiye.

"So," he said. "That's your sister?"

"That's my sister." said Maiye. "Little character, she is."

"You haven't brought her here before."

"No," admitted Maiye. "But my parents are working late tonight, and our neighbor has the flu, so I just said she could come with me."

"Ah." nodded Hiro. "How old is she?"

"Just turned two." said Maiye. "Although she's such a goofball, you'd never really guess."

"Is she… well-behaved then?"

Maiye's lips curled up in a sardonic smile.

"She's _two_."

"Ah."

The pair stood in a tense silence for a few moments, and that was when Hiro really got a good look at Maiye. Dressed in a loose white shirt, black tank top, and thin yoga pants, it seemed that for once, she would rather be relaxing at home than working in a lab setting. Her long, red hair was tied on top of her head in a loose knot, and like most other college students during finals, dark circles were prominent under her eyes. But there was something else there too, something that for once, Hiro couldn't quite place.

"Right then." Maiye finally broke the silence and glanced towards Hiro's desk. "Do you have those research articles you promised me? I'm trying to see if I can incorporate them into the final project."

"They're somewhere." responded Hiro. "And besides, I think our project has plenty of articles to support it."

"Well, I'd still like to look them over." Maiye turned and glanced over Hiro's desk. "Where'd you put them in this mess anyways?"

Hiro sighed. "Maiye-"

"Ah, here they are." said Maiye, bending down. "You dropped them on the floor. Can't say that I'm surprised."

"Maiye-"

She started to rise. "I'm just going to take a look at these then and be on my way." she said. "Won't bother you at all."

"Maiye, I-"

"I'll just grab my sister here and – OW!"

Not paying attention, Maiye had neglected to see the lamp arm extended above Hiro's desk, and whacked her head on it.

"Shhhhoooooot!" She stopped herself from swearing as her hands flew up to her scalp.

"Oh  _man!_ " Hiro immediately rushed to her aid. "That's my fault, I should have moved it earlier! Are you okay?"

"I'm five foot nine," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm used to hitting my head, thank you very much."

Suddenly, from the corner, there came a small beeping, followed by a familiar inflating noise.

"Oh great." muttered Hiro when he realized what it was.

Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw none other than the large white robot himself standing there, blinking innocently at his surroundings. As he waddled over to the group, Yumi in particular was staring up at him in wide-eyed wonder.

"Hello!" said Baymax. "I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

Yumi let out a shriek of joy and rushed towards Baymax, clinging to his leg.

Unfazed, Baymax continued his prepared speech towards Maiye. "I was alerted the need for medical attention when you said, 'ow.'"

Yumi giggled. "Ow!"

"Not you, kiddo." Maiye winced as she removed her hands from her head. "Your klutz of a sister over here."

Turning towards Maiye, Baymax continued, "I will scan you for injuries."

"That's okay, you don't have to-"

"Scan complete."

"…Okay then."

"I have detected a small swelling on the back of the head that is easily treatable." Producing a small icepack, Baymax handed it to Maiye. "Please apply this to the area in question."

"Uh," Maiye took the icepack and held it to her head. "Thank you."

"My scan has also indicated high levels of prolactin and redness around your retinas." He continued. "Have you been crying recently?"

_Huh?_

"Why would you ask that?" said Maiye suspiciously.

"I am programmed to heal the sick and injured." explained Baymax. "Would you care to share your feelings?"

"No, that's okay." sighed Maiye. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot to do, so I really should be getting back to work-"

"I'm sorry."

Maiye froze instantly upon the sound of Hiro's voice, interrupting her sentence. Then, turning towards him, she looked the fellow genius straight in the eye.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry," Hiro repeated firmly. "For the way I treated you. You were right, I should have gotten all the facts before I made up my mind. Wasabi showed me your file the other day, and everything you said was true. You… you didn't lie to me at all."

Maiye was staring at him intently now, so intently that Hiro almost wanted to shrink back into his skin and disappear on the spot.

"How much did you see?" she asked quietly.

"Well, Wasabi got it from the police department, so…" Hiro paused. "All of it."

"And?" Maiye crossed her arms over her chest.

"And," Hiro took a deep breath. "It doesn't bother me."

Maiye remained silent, only blinking in Hiro's direction, before the genius spoke again.

"I know I lost my cool back on the rooftop," he continued. "And I had absolutely no right to do that, not when you were acting so calm with me. And the fact that I didn't even try to talk to you afterwards is even worse. So… I'm really sorry, Maiye."

"Well, to be honest," Maiye's tone of voice softened a little as she uncrossed her arms. "I had a bit of an unfair advantage there. Hiro, the truth of the matter is this: I've known about Big Hero 6 for a while now."

 _That_  came as a shock. Hiro raised his eyebrows towards Maiye. "You have?"

"I have." admitted Maiye. "It was an accident, really. I was at the police station a while back, filling out some paperwork, and one of the officers had your file up on his computer. I guess you've been at this a bit longer than I have, haven't you?"

"Since last winter." responded Hiro. "But I don't get it. If you already knew what I was doing, why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I don't know." Maiye turned away and avoided his gaze. "You hadn't mentioned it to me, so I figured that meant you didn't want me knowing about it. And then judging by that, I didn't think you'd want to know about what  _I_  was doing." She smiled a little wryly. "I guess we were both thinking a little too much then, weren't we?"

"Well, we  _are_  geniuses." said Hiro.

Maiye smiled again, for real this time, and Hiro couldn't help smiling back. Then he grew serious.

"For real, though," he said. "I really am sorry about the way I acted. I know that you weren't lying to me back there, and I know that I hurt you in the process. Maiye, I'm not gonna lie," Hiro paused and ran a hand through his tousled hair. "I  _really_  like you. Like, more than I've ever liked  _anyone._  And please believe me when I say that hurting you was the  _last_  thing I wanted to do."

"I really like you too, Hiro." Maiye stepped forward, lessening the distance between them, and gazed into his eyes. "And I really like being around you. I haven't stopped thinking about you since the expo, and since we're being honest, long before that. Finding out you're part of a team of superheroes hasn't done much to diminish it." She laughed a little.

"I suppose I could say the same about you." Hiro grinned back in response and, finding his courage, took her hand in his own. "If anything, it's just made me like you more."

"Oh, has it now?" Maiye teased as she squeezed his fingers.

"Yes," Hiro squeezed back and looked up into her face. "It has."

Then, leaning forward, the young genius closed what little space remained between the two of them as he caught Maiye's lips in a tender kiss.

She seemed surprised that he had initiated it at first, causing Hiro some alarm, but any worries he had dissipated the moment that Maiye closed her eyes and responded in turn. Emboldened, Hiro moved his hands up so that they were resting on her waist, and pulled her even closer than before. He had to stand on his toes a little to make up for the height difference between them, but he didn't care. Not when he had been dreaming about this moment for so, so long.

In response, Maiye settled one of her hands on Hiro's shoulder, while the other one reached up to rest on his cheek, kissing him back in total and complete earnest. She tried to convey everything that she felt for Hiro into that one kiss, which he must have understood since his arms wrapped a little tighter around her frame.

Once they pulled away, Hiro's head felt fuzzy. Then, a lovestruck smile spread across his features.

"You don't know how long I've been wanting to do that." He said.

"Probably not as long as I have." Maiye laughed and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Honestly Hiro, you're really something else."

"Would you be my girlfriend?" He burst out suddenly, before he realized what he'd said.  _Crap._ He visibly winced. "Ah, that wasn't how I was planning on doing this-"

" _Yes!"_  Hiro's speech was cut off by an enthusiastic response from a grinning Maiye. "Yes, yes,  _yes!_ "

She kissed him quickly on the lips, before wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Elated, Hiro returned the hug and smiled happily into her shoulder.  _Oh, please don't let this be a dream._

"Ooooooooooh!"

The pair broke apart and turned around to see Yumi sitting on the floor in front of Baymax, grinning at the sight that lay before her. She had been previously watching a short cartoon projected onto Baymax's belly, but decided that the love life of her sister was  _far_  more interesting. Whoops.

"And how long have  _you_ been watching for?!" Maiye scolded the toddler, but she couldn't help smiling.

Yumi giggled and didn't answer, but instead, Baymax spoke up in her place.

"Your blood pressure is at a normal rate, and your neurotransmitter levels have risen dramatically." He said to Maiye. "In order to keep your current levels, I recommend spending more time with Hiro."

Maiye turned towards Hiro and raised an eyebrow, while he raised his hands in defense.

"I didn't program him to say that!" He said. "Honest!"

At this point, Maiye only laughed and, crouching down, opened her arms towards Yumi. "C'mere you!"

The toddler joyfully ran into her sister's arms, and Maiye scooped her up without any issue.

"Well, I'd better get back to work." she said. "Prototypes don't build themselves, now do they?"

"Aw," Hiro stuck out his lower lip and did his very best to look sad. "You can't stay and work here?"

"No." Maiye blushed. "You already distract me enough as is. But I'll text you later, okay?"

"Okay." Leaning in, Hiro gave Maiye a quick peck to her cheek, causing her to smile. "See you later, Maiye. Bye, Yumi!" He said, waving at the little girl.

She smiled and waved back. "Byyyeee!"

As Maiye turned around to leave the lab, she gave Hiro one last smile over her shoulder, that same, soft smile that only he ever got to see. After she was gone, Hiro leaned back against his desk and sighed happily.

" _Best_  day of my life."

It was then that Hiro realized that Baymax hadn't commented any further on the situation. Looking over towards the door, Hiro almost lost it when he saw that in trying to go through it, Baymax had gotten stuck inside, his short, stubby legs still moving.

"Buddy!" He yelled, running over towards the robot. "What are you doing?"

"I cannot deactivate until the patient is satisfied with her care." Baymax said simply.

 _Perfect._  With a sigh, Hiro made an attempt to push past the robot and get outside the door. When that inevitably failed, he climbed on top of Baymax and hollered outside the door,

"MAAAAAIYYYE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright friends, I'm sure you'll all join me together now when I say this: finally. The kids got together, the ends tied up, so now the story can end here, right?
> 
> ...
> 
> WRONG!
> 
> There is still so much more to come in this not-so-little story of mine, so much more to see, and I can't wait to share it with you all (muahahahaha).
> 
> As always, reviews are appreciated, but certainly not demanded. Feedback in any form, however, is good :)
> 
> Hope you all are having a lovely summer, and I wish you luck when school begins again.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Liz


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here it is everyone, the next chapter of The Trials of Love! I'm still trying to figure out a good schedule of how and when to update, especially now that I've moved back to college lol :P I've still got a bunch of stuff to do, but in any case, let's just hope things get better from here, shall we?  
> This chapter is a little longer than the previous ones because I'm honestly trying to move through the story at a decent pace, and not get caught up in so many minor details that I forget the big plot. Hope you like it :)
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

Christmas finally came in San Fransokyo, and with it, the end of the fall semester. This meant that the team would have almost the entire month of January to break from classes, pursue personal interests, and, in the case of Hiro and Maiye, spend as much time together as possible.

So far, to the relief of both themselves and those around them, their relationship was smooth sailing. They had presented their semester project and passed with flying colors, and exchanged gifts during Fred's annual Christmas Eve party at his home. Maiye had gotten Hiro a new journal designed specifically with inventors in mind, while he had given her a simple silver bracelet that he thought she'd like (okay, so he had a little help from Aunt Cass). Both loved their presents. Hiro had immediately started using his new journal, while Maiye wore her bracelet all the time.

Now that it was semester break, Hiro primarily worked in his garage lab, rather than trek all the way down to SFIT. This was where he found himself today, helping Maiye improve her not-cop protective armor. They were also discussing the latest developments in the case of Yama and the Fujitas. And, on occasion, discussing absolutely nothing at all.

"According to my dad," Maiye said as she typed away on Hiro's computer. "They caught on that they were being watched and cleared out their old hideout. The warehouse is completely empty."

"What?" Hiro's eyebrows went up in shock. "How'd they manage  _that?_ "

"No idea." shrugged Maiye. "But there was another robbery at a factory downtown. A bunch of parts got stolen overnight, along with one of the trucks."

"That's bad news." Hiro frowned. "Means they're plotting something."

"I agree." Maiye finished typing and pressed the enter key. "Aaand that's done."

"Great." said Hiro as the 3D printer began to hum. "That should last you a while."

"Let's hope so." Going over to the printer, Maiye took out the finished product and began attaching it to the rest of her armor. "I'm going to see how this looks."

While Hiro began making improvements to his own protective armor, Maiye decided to put hers on for a test run. Within minutes, she was wearing her complete ensemble in Hiro's garage.

Unlike the bright colors that Big Hero 6 wore, Maiye's protective armor was a light, silvery gray, sleeveless to allow for more airflow and better arm movement. On her hands though, she had matching arm pieces that went all the way up to her elbows, and her right one contained enough space to store darts that she used as a weapon. One well-aimed flick of the wrist, and the target in question would be knocked out for a good three minutes – just enough time to make an escape.

Unfortunately for her though, they weren't a quick fix. The liquid inside was expensive, and it took a good dose of it in order to be effective. Therefore, Maiye would have to be very careful in how often she used them. It was just as well anyways: Maiye preferred a fair fight.

On her other arm, there contained a grappling device that could be activated with the push of a small button, especially useful when navigating the rooftops of San Fransokyo. A small utility belt sat at her waist, with components to store emergency weapons… should it ever come to that. On her legs were a pair of black pants, accompanied by knee-high silver boots. Completing her look was a protective eye covering and an earpiece allowing for easy communication.

While Hiro printed out the repaired piece of his armor, Maiye put her hair up into a messy bun and spoke.

'How am I looking?" she said.

"Like you're ready to kill somebody." Hiro said honestly.

"Good." Maiye smiled. "I was hoping for that. How's yours coming along?"

"All done." Hiro stood up. "I repaired the broken arm piece and made the whole thing sturdier, but not so sturdy that I can't move. Basically, just what I was aiming for."

"Want to test it?" Maiye laughed and put her hands up into mock-fists.

"Nah," Hiro laughed too. "I'm good."

Off in the distance, there suddenly came a loud crashing sound, followed by several screams. Exchanging nervous glances, Maiye and Hiro rushed towards the door to look out onto the street.

"What was  _that?_ " asked Hiro.

"I don't know." said Maiye. "I don't see anything."

Maiye then felt a buzz coming from her phone. Reaching into one of her pockets, she pulled it out and saw that she had received a text from her stepmother.

_Where are you? Turn on the news!_

Going over towards the small television set, Hiro quickly turned it on and flipped it to channel four, where a special news bulletin was currently being broadcasted.

"Good afternoon, San Fransokyo." said the female news anchor. "I'm Elizabeth Foster, and this is an urgent news bulletin. At present, what appears to be a large robot is currently making its way through the downtown area district and causing damage to local structures."

As she spoke, helicopter footage was playing on the screen beside her, showing exactly what she said: A large robot, about two stories tall, was moving slowly down the street. One arm had a claw attached to the end of it, which was swinging at buildings, while the other chopped through rubble with a large hacksaw.

"Oh my god." Maiye's hand went to her mouth, while Hiro could only stare at the screen in horror.

_He recognized that robot._

"We will now go live to our reporter on the scene, Damon Lewis, with the latest developments. Damon?"

"Thanks, Jane." An African-American man suddenly appeared on the screen, holding a microphone. From behind him, the robot could be seen in the distance, but getting closer by the minute.

"At present," he said. "It is unclear as to who or what is behind this apparent attack on the city. Until that is figured out, the San Fransokyo Police Department is urging all residents to stay inside until the all-clear. Those in the downtown area, however, are being told to evacuate as quickly as possible- HOLY SMOKES!"

His speech was cut off when the building nearby him was hit by the robot, scattering debris, and causing the camera footage to become fuzzy and disoriented as he and the reporter ran for cover.

"The police department." Maiye said slowly. "That means my dad is down there."

"We have to do something." said Hiro. "Before Yama destroys the entire city." He pulled out his phone to send out an emergency signal. "I'm calling the others."

"Good idea." said Maiye. Then she grimaced. "You know I was only joking about testing this, right?"

Despite the severity of the situation, Hiro managed a small smile as Baymax inflated in the background.

"Let's go."

* * *

 

Within minutes, the entirety of Big Hero 6, plus Maiye, were gathered downtown. Having been informed there was an emergency, they began forming a plan of action.

"So what are we dealing with then?" asked Wasabi. "I wasn't watching TV when Hiro sent out the signal."

"Big robot, massive destruction, most likely Yama." said Gogo. As the team rounded a corner and the robot came into view, the others saw that she was right.

"Dear god," Fred's eyes widened. "It's even bigger in person."

"What's the plan?" asked Honey.

"Okay," said Hiro. "The way I see it, Yama is either controlling that robot via remote control, or he's in there doing it himself. Either way, if Baymax and I can get up there, I can shut it down myself."

"Not alone, you can't." snapped Gogo. "Take someone with you. That way, if anyone tries to stop you from working, they can stop them."

"I'll go." volunteered Maiye.

Hiro's eyes widened a little at the prospect. "But-"

"If you think I'm going to allow my boyfriend to waltz into a giant robot by himself," she said firmly. "You're crazy."

He couldn't argue with that.

He turned to the others. "Meanwhile, you guys try to take the robot down from the outside, whatever you can do. And while you're at it, make sure no one gets hurt."

"We're on it." nodded Fred.

And just like that, the team split up to take care of their various duties. Gogo, Honey, Wasabi, and Fred ran towards the robot, while Hiro pulled Maiye onto Baymax's back with him.

"Baymax, thrust!"

Maiye swore out loud and grabbed onto Hiro's shoulders in order to stop herself from falling off. Once she was settled, she glared ahead at him.

"You didn't mention this part!"

"It was implied!"

Maiye sighed heavily as Hiro began maneuvering Baymax to fly around the robot a few times, trying to distract it, and narrowly avoiding being hit in the process. While he did so, he spoke into the communications device on his helmet.

"How's it looking down there?"

"Not great." Wasabi's voice echoed back as his plasma blades swished in the background. "This thing won't stop!"

From their position, Hiro and Maiye could see that he was correct. No matter what the others did, what attacks they tried, they never worked for very long.

Grabbing her purse, Honey quickly entered a chemical formula and produced several balls, which she then threw at the feet of the giant robot. Upon exploding, they produced a goo that caused the robot to get stuck in place – if for a few brief moments.

"That should hold it for a while!" she yelled into her receiver. "But you guys will have to be quick!"

"We're on it!" said Maiye.

Flying around the other side of the robot, Hiro positioned Baymax so that he was directly facing the back of its head.

"Baymax, fist!"

Raising his fist, Baymax blasted a large, gaping hole in the back of the robot, revealing its control room. Sitting at the console was none other than Ren, Kyoko, and Aimi – the Fujitas.

Turning around to see them, Ren rolled her eyes.

"Oh great," she said sarcastically. "Look who's here."

"So it  _is_ you guys!" said Maiye. "I knew it!"

"In the flesh." smirked Kyoko as they touched down inside. "So it's Hiro, right?" She let out a chuckle. "I've gotta say, you look pretty different when you're not plastered all over Aimi's wall."

A visible shudder passed through Hiro's body at the prospect, while in the meantime, Aimi was staring very intently in his and Maiye's direction – especially at Maiye.

She narrowed her eyes menacingly. "Who are  _you?_ "

"Doesn't matter." said Maiye firmly. "What you're doing, however, does. Now step away from the console, all of you."

"Hmm," Kyoko pretended to think for a moment. "Nope, I don't think so. Ladies?" She airily turned towards the other two. "Please show our guests the door."

Ren smiled sinisterly as she began to stand up. "With pleasure."

Rushing forward, Hiro and Maiye then found themselves face to face with two separate attacks, made all the more difficult by the fact that their opponents were on roller skates. Ren pulled twin blades off of her back and lunged towards Hiro, while Maiye found herself dodging attacks from Aimi's huge spiked ball.

"Get to the controls!" she screamed at Hiro.

Hiro nodded quickly and immediately rushed behind Baymax for protection as Ren took swipes at him with her swords. With one swift kick of her leg, she had knocked both of them to the floor and pushed Baymax aside, sending him tumbling out the opening of the console.

"Baymax!" yelled Hiro. He reached towards his fallen friend, but soon found himself at the receiving end of one very pointed blade.

Ren smirked down at him. "Looks like your bodyguard isn't here to help you."

Glaring up at her, Hiro reached one foot behind Ren's and swept forward, immediately knocking her off her feet. While she was down, Hiro grabbed one of the swords she had dropped and pointed it in her direction, effectively reversing their positions.

"He's. Not. My.  _Bodyguard._ " hissed Hiro.

Ren merely sneered in response and swung her remaining sword up towards Hiro, which emitted a loud  _clang_  upon colliding with its partner. The two fought until Hiro had backed her up towards the opening to the console, threatening to push her over the edge. Ren actually looked frightened for a moment, then glared up at Hiro.

"You wouldn't let me fall to my death." she taunted.

Hiro smiled. "Of course I wouldn't." Then, with one final shove, he sent Ren tumbling out of the console. She screamed on the way down, but her screams suddenly stopped when she felt someone catch her.

Opening her eyes, she looked up and found herself being carried by the big stupid robot that she thought she'd done away with. The dumb thing merely looked down at her with its dumb, blank face.

"You have fallen." said Baymax to the 'patient.' "Falling from this height would be enough to cause bodily harm."

"What?!" Glancing towards the console, Ren only saw Hiro standing there with his arms across his chest, smiling triumphantly in her direction.

"You idiot!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Put me down this instant!"

"If you insist." grinned Hiro. "But to be honest, you're awfully high up, aren't you?"

Looking down at the ground, Ren had no choice but to realize that he was right, and she visibly gulped. However, that didn't change the fact that she was still going to send a stream of swears in his direction.

"YOU [ _CENSORED_ ] SON OF A [ _CENSORED_ ]! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I AM GOING TO [ _CENSORED_ ]!"

While Hiro had occupied Baymax with his new patient, Maiye, meanwhile, remained locked in a battle with a very angry Aimi, consistently ducking and dropping to avoid being struck by her spiked ball. With one well-timed kick of her leg, Maiye was able to send the ball flying out of the console opening, leaving Aimi defenseless.

She looked quite shocked for a moment, before she glared at Maiye very angrily. "That," she began slowly. "Wasn't. Very. NICE!"

With a maniacal shriek, she lunged towards Maiye with her hands at her throat, but Maiye was able to block the attack. Grabbing onto Aimi's wrists, she twisted them downwards, causing the smaller girl to screech in pain. While she was distracted, Maiye kneed her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her and sending her tumbling to her knees. Once she was successfully down, Maiye then took one of her darts and used it to jab Aimi in the shoulder.

"Owwwww!" The other girl cried, before dropping, unconscious, to the floor.

Once that was complete, Maiye immediately turned around and saw Hiro fighting with Kyoko for control of the robot, causing it to jerk violently from side to side. Maiye let out a yell as she began to lose her balance, grabbing onto a nearby empty chair for support. Then, rushing forward, she tackled Kyoko from behind and pinned her to the ground.

"Hiro!" cried Maiye as she struggled to restrain the older woman. "Shut it down!"

As Hiro began fiddling with the controls, Ren began yelling from Baymax's arms.

"Don't touch that!" she yelled. "You idiots don't know what you're doing!"

Ignoring her, Hiro pressed every button and pulled every lever until he got to the robot's main computer. Once he was there, he began rapidly entering codes that he was certain would shut down the robot. But nothing worked!

"What's going on?" Maiye screamed as she struggled with Kyoko.

"Nothing is working!" Hiro grit his teeth as he tried more codes.

"Do Plan B then!"

"Baymax!" yelled Hiro, turning towards the robot. "Rocket fist!"

He and Maiye then proceeded to hit the deck as Baymax's other rocket fist flew off his arm and towards the console, causing it to explode upon impact.

"No!" screamed Kyoko.

But it was too late. Once the console blew up, the robot came to an immediate stop, circuits fizzling and sparks flying, and Hiro and Maiye began coughing at the smoke. As the dust settled, Kyoko started up again.

"You little brats!" she shrieked. "You have no idea what you two have just done,  _no_ idea!"

"Shut up." snapped Maiye, jabbing one of her remaining darts into Kyoko's shoulder. Afterwards, she leaped to her feet and ran towards Hiro, helping him up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he coughed a little. "I'm fine."

"What happened with the control panel?" she asked. "I thought you were going to shut it down the old fashioned way?"

"I was." said Hiro. "I tried everything. But no matter what I did, the robot wouldn't shut down." He sighed. "I don't know why."

"And you won't find out!" Ren hollered, still clinging to Baymax to prevent from falling. "So give it up, kiddies!"

Maiye stepped forward to confront her, but Hiro stopped her with a hand to her arm.

"Don't." he said. "The cops will deal with her as soon as they get here."

Sure enough, the police, led by Maiye's father, were brought up a few minutes later on a crane provided by the local fire department. Upon reaching the top, they quickly took the Fujitas into custody.

"You're making a mistake!" hissed Ren as handcuffs were snapped around her wrists. "Just you wait!"

"Madam," Maiye's father sighed. "I believe I told you that you have the right to remain silent."

Ren glared at him, but shut her mouth as the cranes lowered her, Kyoko, and Aimi down to earth, along with the police officers who had arrested them. All three of them were then locked and loaded into the back of a heavy-duty prison van.

"We'll probably need to contact you all later to make a statement." said Chief Barton to the team. "Until then, I and the rest of the city thank you for your help."

"You're welcome, sir." said Hiro respectfully. "Let us know if there's anything else we can do."

"I'll be sure to." said the chief. "I'll see you all later now." He tipped his hat towards the assembled group and walked away.

Maiye waved to his retreating form. "Bye, dad."

Hiro turned towards her with wide eyes. "That was your dad?" he squeaked.

"Yeah," said Maiye. "I already told you he was the police chief."

"True, but I wasn't really-"

"Expecting to meet him like this?" Maiye's lips twisted into a smile. "Gee Hiro, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were  _afraid_  of him."

"What?!" Hiro was indignant. "Tha-That's ridiculous!"

"I don't know," came Fred's voice. "He  _does_  look like he works out."

"He does." said Maiye. "Only he does it to the funky pop station." Her hand flew towards her mouth. " _None_  of you are allowed to repeat that!"

"Repeat  _what?_ " asked Wasabi innocently, and everyone laughed.

"You can't judge, Wasabi." Gogo grinned. "Or should I say, Mister  _Now That's What I Call Disco!_ "

"You listen to  _disco?_ " Fred's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you  _tell_  me?!"

Wasabi's face turned beet red. "I-"

"I would have given you my dad's old albums! Come on, man!"

Hiro chuckled and wrapped an arm around Maiye's waist, pulling her towards him. "Shall we head out then?" he asked.

" _You_ two can." said Gogo. " _I,_ however, am going home to take a shower and sleep for the rest of my existence."

"That sounds like a good idea, actually." said Honey. "We can regroup later on."

"Fine with me." said Wasabi. "I'm gonna head home."

"Me too." responded Fred. "Let me know when you want those albums!"

Rolling his eyes, Hiro turned towards Maiye.

"Are you going home too?" he asked.

"How can I?" she raised an eyebrow. "I left my stuff at your house."

"Oh?" A smirk spread across Hiro's face. "How convenient."

"No worries," Maiye wrapped an arm around Hiro's shoulders and shrugged airily. "I'm just going to have to go back and get it." But she ended her sentence with a knowing smile towards her boyfriend.

However, as the pair walked away with Baymax in tow, not everyone was smiling the way they were. Not everyone was as happy as they were. Not everyone was prancing off into the sunset the way they were.

And that  _just wasn't fair._

From her position in the back of a squad car, Aimi stared intently out the window at the two young geniuses, her fury growing by the minute. This wasn't supposed to happen, not like this. The robot was supposed to  _work_ , the city was supposed to  _fall,_  and Hiro was supposed to be  _hers._  That was what Yama  _said_  would happen, he  _said_  so!

_BUT IT HADN'T HAPPENED!_

She was trembling now in her seat and shaking furiously, wanting to scream and yell and cry all at once, but the backseat was small and the handcuffs were tight. It was all that  _girl's_  fault, the one who had hurt her today.  _She_ was the reason things hadn't worked the way they were supposed to,  _she_  was the reason they hadn't won, and  _she_ was the reason that Hiro wasn't hers!

The longer Aimi watched them walk away together, the madder she became. But before she could lose her cool completely, she felt a nudge beside her. Glancing over, she saw Ren staring intently at her.

" _Enough."_  she said quietly, low enough that it barely even looked like she was talking. Glancing around to be sure no one was listening, she leaned forward.

" _This is why we have Plan B."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is Plan B, you ask? You'll just have to wait and find out. *cue evil laughter*
> 
> But surprise! This story has an official tumblr blog now :D It's just a little something I put together so I can keep you guys updated on this story's progress (if you so desire) without having to log through all the unrelated posts on my personal. It's still under construction, so there's not much there now, but if you want to follow, feel free. It's literally the title of this story, without any spaces, so no worries.
> 
> If any of you are going back to school soon, I wish you a great year and the best of luck :)
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Liz


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers, I'm officially back at college now, and classes have started in full swing. It's quite nice being back, actually. Just being here makes me feel productive in some way haha.
> 
> But I think now we are coming up to the final arc in this little story of mine, the climax if you will. This is where things will change for our group even more, but I won't spoil the surprise by telling you how it happens. You're just going to have to keep reading to find out ;)
> 
> As always, I'd like to say thank you for the follows and faves you have given not only to this story, but to me as well. It makes me so happy to know that even though this story went in a different direction than I originally planned, you guys are still enjoying it nonetheless. So thank you :)
> 
> Now on to chapter ten!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

When Hiro woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was reach out towards his desk to check his phone. After several seconds of haphazard searching, he finally found it and picked it up. Blinking blearily at the screen, he saw that he had received a text earlier that morning, and smiled when he saw who it was.

_Good morning :)_

Swiping his thumb, Hiro then saw that the text had come in around 7:45 am.  _Why_ , in the name of all things holy, was his girlfriend getting up that early on a school vacation day? Sitting up in bed, Hiro decided to find out.

_Good morning :) You got up early?_

Her response was almost instantaneous.

_Yeah, I went for a jog. Do you have any idea what time it is?_

Looking over at his clock, Hiro then realized that it had just gone ten. He was surprised, actually – on vacation days (and when Aunt Cass would let him), he usually slept until noon.

He texted back quickly.

_Yes, time to go back to sleep!_

_Nooo you'll be up all night!_

Hiro laughed.

_You clearly underestimate my sleeping abilities._

A minute passed before he got another response.

_Come on, sleeping beauty. Do I have to get over there and wake you up myself?_

Now  _that_ wasn't a bad idea…

_If I'm really sleeping beauty, then I believe the answer is yes ;)_

Maiye didn't miss a beat.

_Fine, I was planning on swinging by today anyways, if that's alright with you._

Hiro found himself grinning impishly.

_You already know my answer :)_

_Ok, give me half an hour. Or longer depending on Yumi's temperament._

_I thought she was with your stepmom today?_

_Nope, that's tomorrow when Heather goes to the elementary school._

While Maiye's dad was the police chief of San Fransokyo, her stepmother worked as a music teacher for the nearby elementary and junior high schools in the area. On some days, when Yumi didn't have daycare, Heather would take the toddler to school with her. She had attempted to take Maiye as well one day, but after all the third graders complained about her less-than-ideal singing voice, Maiye decided to stick with computing.

 _Sure,_ Hiro texted back.  _See you soon :) 3_

_See you soon :) xoxo_

Hiro wouldn't lie, his heart did a little flip when he laid eyes on Maiye's last text message, particularly the ending part. They hadn't been dating for very long, but Hiro already knew that he had very strong feelings towards her. And since she'd said yes to being his girlfriend, clearly she felt the same way about him.

He quickly showered and got dressed, before skipping down the stairs to have breakfast. Grabbing a pop-tart from the cabinet, he bit into it as he went to the café to say hello to Aunt Cass.

"Hi sweetie." Aunt Cass smiled when she saw her nephew. "Nice to see you're finally awake. Have you made any plans for today?"

"Maiye's coming over soon with her sister." said Hiro.

"Are their parents working today?"

"Yep."

"Then that's very sweet of her." said Aunt Cass. "Let me know if you guys decide to go anyplace."

"I will!" Hiro gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Love you!"

"Love you too."

Going out to the garage, Hiro decided to do a bit of work on Baymax before Maiye and her little sister arrived.

"Morning buddy!" he said brightly as he walked in. "Hope you're ready for some upgrades!"

No response. There usually wasn't at first.

"Owwwww!" Hiro yelled jokingly. "I'm hurt! Could use some help over here!"

Still no response. Now this was odd.

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Baymax?"

Nothing, zero, nada.  _Now_  Hiro was starting to worry.

"Baymax?" He called throughout the garage. "You here?"

Silence.

"This isn't funny, man."

No answer.

"BAYMAX!"

Absolutely nothing.

This was weird, Hiro thought, very weird. Normally by now, Baymax would have inflated and given some funny answer to Hiro's questions. If he wasn't in the garage, then where was he?

Glancing around, Hiro began looking for the boxy red form that was Baymax when he wasn't currently active. His battery was full after Hiro charged him yesterday, so there hadn't been any reason to bring him up to his room last night. Besides, even if he  _was_  there, Hiro would have seen him this morning.

Maybe he had moved on his own during the night? He could have heard someone cry out on the street and gone to help them? It wasn't the first time it had happened. Hiro remembered an incident in the SFIT labs when a fellow student had cut their finger, and Baymax had wandered off to help them. But even then, he had come straight back to Hiro's lab afterwards. Hiro hadn't even known about it until the person came up to him later and thanked him.

And anyways, the garage was always locked at night…

Going towards his desk, Hiro then spotted the worn green blanket that normally covered Baymax at night still in its usual place, only the shape underneath it was clearly not that of a resting healthcare robot. When Hiro pulled the blanket back, however, he gasped aloud when he saw what it was instead:

A lone, solitary pair of roller skates.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, a couple members of the San Fransokyo police department, better known as the SFPD, were running a small investigation out of Hiro's garage, led by none other than the police chief himself and Maiye's father, Phillip Barton. As soon as Maiye and her sister had shown up and saw what happened, she agreed with Hiro that a missing Baymax and a pair of roller skates that weren't his were definitely something to be suspicious about. Whipping out her cell phone, she called the number usually reserved for emergencies, and the police had arrived within minutes.

"And you are  _positive_  that this was where you left your robot last night?" said one of the officers questioning Hiro.

" _Yes."_  The young genius had said through clenched teeth. "I've searched my entire house, no one at SFIT has seen him, and I can't get his tracking device to work, no matter how hard I try. I've told you this  _twice_  already!"

"Officer," Aunt Cass interjected. "We appreciate what you're doing for us, we really do. But for now, I think it's best that my nephew not answer any more of your questions."

As the officer walked away, Aunt Cass leaned over and placed a comforting hand on Hiro's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," she said. "We'll find him. I'm sure this is all just one big misunderstanding. Maybe he just wandered off someplace and lost power."

"If that were the case," said Hiro. "I'd still be able to find him."

A moment later, Maiye walked over to where Hiro was standing, balancing Yumi in one arm. She was accompanied by her father, who himself wore a grim expression on his usually passive face.

"We tried looking for his tracking device like you told us." he said to Hiro. "But unfortunately, we're having no luck. Since you said that it works even when your robot's battery is low, I think it's safe to assume that whoever took Baymax didn't want him to be found."

"Any idea who might have taken him?" asked Aunt Cass.

"Judging by the roller skates we found at the scene," frowned Phillip. "Yes. I just called one of my guys a minute ago, and he confirmed that the Fujitas broke out of their prison cell last night." He reached out and placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Although he appreciated the chief's apology, deep down, Hiro really wished he hadn't just said that. If he was apologizing  _now,_  then that meant he and the others had already made up their minds. That they were already thinking the worst. That right at that moment, while they were speaking, Baymax could be… could be…

Hiro couldn't bring himself to finish the thought as he slowly collapsed onto his desk chair behind him, tears blurring his vision as he placed his head in his hands. He hadn't allowed himself to cry since Tadashi's death, which was the last time he had truly lost someone he loved. This couldn't be happening… There was no way, after everything they had been through, that he could lose Baymax like this again. It wasn't as simple as just building him a new body or uploading a backup chip. Even if Hiro did that, the new Baymax wouldn't have the same healthcare chip as he did before, the one Tadashi made for him. Even if Hiro did make him again, it wouldn't be like the first time. He wouldn't be the same Baymax, the one his brother had put so much of his heart and soul into, the one he'd worked so hard on, the one he'd so desperately wanted to change the world with.

It was like losing Tadashi all over again.

All around him, the others all did what they could to offer comfort. The police chief kept a hand on his shoulder, Aunt Cass stroked his hair with a motherly touch, and Maiye wrapped one arm around his form and pressed a light kiss to his temple. Even Yumi reached out a tiny, chubby hand in his direction.

Hiro felt none of it.

* * *

"Your blood pressure is elevated, and you appear to be distressed. Would you like to pause your activity for a moment in order to calm down?"

"For the ten thousandth time, no!" snapped Kyoko. "Now shut up!"

"Didn't you hear it earlier?" smirked Ren. "It 'cannot deactivate until you are satisfied with your care.'"

"Fine! I am satisfied with my – YEEEEOOOOOWWWCH!"

She let out a shriek and yanked her hand back from Baymax's internal skeleton, which was now exposed through the opening in the vinyl material that Ren had cut earlier.

"Damn it!"

"I regret that I am unable to help you," said Baymax. "But my current deflated state and the restraints you have placed on me are inhibiting my movements."

Ren laughed. "That's the idea, pal." She turned towards Kyoko. "Having fun yet?"

"Oh, piss off." Kyoko glared in response. "You're not helping."

"No," Ren shrugged. "I'm babysitting Aimi to make sure she doesn't have another fit."

Kyoko scowled. "That's not gonna happen and you know it." Turning her head, she spotted Aimi sitting nearby, calm and collected as the normal girl she pretended to be, writing something in a small journal. Upon closer inspection, Kyoko saw nothing but columns upon columns of  _Mrs. Aimi Hamada_ 's marching up and down the page.

In response, Ren merely laughed. "Looks can be deceiving." She pointed towards Baymax. "Like our friend here. Who knew there was so much hidden potential in that squishy body of his?"

"My 'squishy body' was designed to give me a nonthreatening, huggable design." said Baymax. "May I ask why you're trying to undermine that?"

"That's for  _us_ to know," grinned Kyoko. "And for you  _never_  to find out."

"You are aware that you took me from Hiro's garage without his express permission or consent." continued the robot. "An action, of which, is illegal. Adding this to all your previous criminal offenses, the three of you could each receive a prison sentence ranging anywhere from five to ten year-"

"Oh my  _god,_ " Ren rolled her eyes. "Can someone please just  _shut him up?_ "

"Found it!" Taking hold of a wire, Kyoko looked up towards Ren and smiled a diabolical smile.

"Please don't touch that." Baymax requested calmly. "Interfering with that wire will undermine my artificial intelligence data and render me unable tooooooo…"

His speech trailed off and ended just as Kyoko snipped the wire in question and proudly held it up for Ren to see.

"Sorry," she smirked over Baymax's now limp and lifeless form. "Didn't quite catch that."

"About  _time_  you shut him up!" said Ren. "Maybe now we can finally get some peace and quiet around here!"

"Whatever." Kyoko stood up and dusted herself off. "At least now we'll have an empty form to take to Yama." She let out a small chuckle. "He can take it from here."

* * *

A few hours later, the entirety of Big Hero 6, minus one very prominent member, were gathered in the living room at Maiye's house. Upon hearing about what happened to Baymax, the rest of the team had immediately rushed over to offer their support and try and help find him. After about an hour though, the police still weren't having any luck, so Maiye's father suggested that they all go back to Maiye's house to relax and await further updates.

Thus, there they were, scattered around Maiye's small living room, trying their best to keep themselves occupied. On the coffee table, a simple board game had been set up to play, which was what Honey, Gogo, and Fred found themselves doing that afternoon. They were accompanied by Yumi, who, being two years old, was more interested in trying to eat the pieces than play with them.

Just as she was about to put another one into her mouth, Fred happened to look over at the right moment and immediately spoke up.

"Woah there," he said, moving the little girl's hand away. "You probably shouldn't try to eat those, kid. They're not good for you."

Yumi blinked at him for a moment, processing his words, before placing the game piece back on the table and promptly lying down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Shrugging his shoulders, Fred turned around and went back to the game.

From nearby, Wasabi had settled himself down in the armchair, flipping through an old knitting magazine containing pattern tutorials. When this was all over, he told himself, once they found Baymax, he was going to knit that robot the nicest and most comfy sweater he possibly could. Even if it took all year.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Aunt Cass had been given free reign of the place, and now, with the supervision of Maiye's stepmom, was peering into cupboards and opening drawers. Since she had closed her café for the day, Heather had told Aunt Cass she could do all the baking she wanted in their kitchen. "Someone might as well." she'd said.

That someone was usually Maiye. Despite years of lessons from her mother, Heather had never quite managed to grasp the basics of cooking. It was just as well, though. Cooking was something that both Phillip and his daughter enjoyed, and since that was the case, Heather didn't mind one bit.

Once her husband had called her with the situation, Heather had taken the rest of the day off work and immediately came home to be with her children. A forty-something Chinese-American woman, she had lived in San Fransokyo her entire life, but had never seen anything like what her stepdaughter apparently saw on a regular basis.

Even now, Heather kept turning her head around to glance at the dismayed group in the living room, her eyes continually falling on the sofa where Maiye now sat with the young man who had lost his robot. Her arm was resting around his form and she was holding his hand, while he in turn had settled his head on her shoulder, silently staring into his lap.

His aunt came over to her a minute later, and, in a quiet voice, asked,

"Have you heard anything new?"

Heather shook her head in response. "Not a word."

Looking over towards her nephew, Hiro's aunt sighed. "I wish I knew how to help him." she said. "But I've got to be honest, I'm really out of my element here."

"You and me both." said Heather. "The last time I was ever involved in superhero life was when I was four years old, and it was my father. All I remember is that he went out one day to save the city and never came home afterwards. Since then, I vowed I would never be involved in that world again – until I was." She paused, looking over towards her stepdaughter once more.

"I worry for her safety." Heather continued quietly. "Every time she goes out. She's such a smart girl, so very loved, and she has such a bright future ahead of her… And I worry that some madman with a robot is going to take all that away."

"I feel the same way about Hiro." said Aunt Cass. "When I finally found out what he and his friends were up to, I wasn't sure what to say. My first instinct was to freak out and tell him he shouldn't do it anymore." She laughed humorlessly. "But I know that's not practical. Not when there are so many people out there who need his help. So instead, I just sit tight and pray every time the team get a call."

"Even now," she continued. "What happened with Baymax has me worried sick, not only about him, but about Hiro too. I just keep thinking… what if it hadn't been Baymax they took that night? They were in our house, they had the opportunity… what if they had taken my nephew instead?"

Aunt Cass's voice finally broke on the last part, and all the tears she had been holding back finally flowed free. Leaning forward, Heather embraced her fellow motherly figure in a gentle hug.

"Let's be thankful they didn't." she told her.

Sniffing softly, Aunt Cass nodded. When she pulled back, she reached upwards and wiped at her eyes, remaining more than aware of the fact that Hiro and the others were still nearby. The last thing she wanted was for her little boy to see her crying on his behalf.

Suddenly, the heavy silence was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone, causing everyone to jump. It took Hiro a moment to realize that the call was coming in on  _his_  cell phone. Pulling it from his pocket, he squinted his eyes at the screen.

"I don't recognize the number."

"Answer it anyways." said Maiye. "And put it on speaker so we can hear it."

Nodding, Hiro did as she said and set the phone down on the coffee table in front of him. "Hello?" he asked. Once he heard the caller's response on the other end, his blood immediately ran cold.

"Long time no see,  _Zero._ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that you've read this, I can finally tell you my personal description of the entire chapter: drama, drama, and more drama.
> 
> But yeah! Baymax has been kidnapped now, and who knows what the villains are planning to do to him! (Well, I know, but I'm the author, so that's kind of a given). And of course, I'm leaving you guys on a cliffhanger until I post the next chapter. Again.
> 
> Hopefully it will be out sooner rather than later though. I've already started writing it as of this one being posted. I'm still not quite sure what the schedule of updates is going to be for this story. I had been aiming for twice a month on specific dates, but with my being back at college, I'm not sure if that's going to happen :P But I'll be finishing this story, don't you worry.
> 
> I know I mentioned this in the last chapter's author's note, but this story has it's own tumblr blog now with several cool features. There's a character page with extra information, an "official" playlist of songs, and basically me talking about future plans for this story. The link is on my bio page here, so if you want to check it out, please do :) (I'm being serious actually, please check it out. I only have one follower there and it's my real-life friend who felt bad for me lol).
> 
> As always, reviews are appreciated so that I may know for certain what you guys are thinking about this story. Good? Bad? Needs improvement? Let me know so I can respond accordingly :)
> 
> Hope things are going well for you all,
> 
> Liz


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, at long last, here's the next chapter of the Trials of Love :) I hope you're all ready to have your hearts ripped ou- I mean, read ahead, of course! Yes! Read! Don't know why I would ever type such a silly thing! *cue nervous laughter*
> 
> I realized that even though I told you guys here about a tumblr blog for this story, I didn't actually give you the link. Sorry about that :P It should be on my author profile now, if any of you guys are interested in taking a look.
> 
> Anyways, before this author's note gets too long, I'm going to end it here and get on with the chapter. Onward!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

Everyone froze, all equally horrified at what they'd just heard. Then, heart pounding inside his chest, Hiro choked out,

"Yama?"

"Nice to see you still remember me." The voice on the other end of the line chuckled. "Has it really been that long now?"

"I-" Hiro struggled for a moment to find his voice. "How did you get this number?"

Yama chuckled. "I have my ways. Oh, and someone who's  _very_  anxious to see you again."

"Hello, Hiro!" A maniacal giggle rose up from the background, and Hiro immediately recognized Aimi's voice. "Do you remember me? That's okay if you don't." she simpered. "Your robot can tell you!"

 _Baymax._  Hiro clenched his teeth. "Where is Baymax?" he demanded. "What have you done with him?"

"He's right here." said Yama breezily. "Remarkable piece of work, might I add. You and your brother have really outdone yourselves this time. But, as with any work," Hiro could almost hear the smile in his voice. "There's always room for improvement."

"I swear," Hiro clenched his fists angrily. "If you have laid a  _single_  hand on him-!"

"Now now, Hiro," Yama chided through the phone. "I'm not sure if you realize this, but my girls and I have just done you a  _huge_  favor. I believe the proper response in this situation is some form of  _thank you._ " He laughed. "But I guess your parents didn't teach you proper manners, now did they?"

His words cut through Hiro like a knife, and the young genius struggled to retain his composure. "What are you doing to him?!" he yelled. "Tell me right now!"

"We  _could,_ " piped up Aimi. "But we'd rather you come and see for yourself!"

"We're set up at the old laboratory over on Akuma Island," said Yama. "I'm sure you remember where it is. Perfect place for testing new technologies, wouldn't you say?"

"And  _don't_  bring those friends of yours with you!" cried Aimi. "They'll just get in our way!"

"We'll be expecting you within the hour," continued Yama. " _Just_  you, might I add. Otherwise, that robot of yours is going to be ground down into spare parts and thrown into a landfill." He laughed. "It would be a real shame for the last project your brother ever worked on to die with him, now wouldn't it?

"Well, I'd best be going now," he finished. "I've got a lot of cleaning up to do if I'm going to be having guests over." He laughed one final time into the phone. "Sayonara,  _Zero._ "

The phone line went dead, and the call ended. After that, all hell broke loose. Aunt Cass started crying, Yumi started wailing, and everyone began yelling at once.

"Son of a  _bitch!_ " screamed Gogo in frustration. "Son of a  _bitch!_ "

"How could this happen?" sobbed Honey from the floor. "To  _us?_ "

"All this," said Fred. "Over a stupid  _botfight?_ "

Maiye shook her head grimly. "I don't think it's about the botfight anymore." she said.

Moving into action, Heather rushed swiftly across the room and lifted a still-bawling Yumi into her arms. As she did so, she spoke over her the toddler's loud cries.

"I'm calling my husband," she said. "I recorded that entire encounter on my phone just now. Once the police department sees it, it'll be all the evidence they need to convict Yama once and for all."

"No!" Hiro shouted all of a sudden. "Don't!"

All the activity in the room came to a sudden standstill as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Hiro, all wearing equal masks of horror and disbelief. Even Yumi had stopped her wailing and was now sniffling quietly in her mother's arms. Maiye was the first to break the silence.

" _What?"_

"Don't call the police." Hiro said in a shaky tone of voice.  _"Please._ "

The silence in the room almost grew unbearable as everyone took turns trying to process what he was saying. Then, after nearly half a minute of just staring, Honey finally spoke with a quiet and heartbroken,

" _Why?"_

Hiro could feel everyone's eyes on him now, especially the harsh, penetrating stare of his girlfriend, but he wouldn't meet anyone's gaze. Then, he spoke.

"You heard what Yama said." He said quietly. "He's got Baymax. And by the looks of it, he's done something to him too. If we show up there, all of us, guns blazing, then Yama's going to get angry and take it out on him. I can't let that happen." Hiro sighed heavily. "And that's why I have to go alone."

"If you go alone," said Gogo. "You  _won't_  come back, and that's the truth. Don't you see what he's doing, Hiro?" She spat out the next words venomously. "He. Wants. You.  _Dead._ "

"We've already lost your brother." said Wasabi quietly. "We aren't prepared to lose you too, little man."

"That's just  _it!_ " Hiro shouted suddenly, rising up from the couch and spinning to face the others. "You don't get it,  _none_  of you!" he swallowed hard before saying his next words. "Tadashi has been there for me my whole life." He said softly. "Ever since I was born, there hasn't been a day that he wasn't there for me. And now that he's gone, I don't know what to do. You guys at least know what it's like to live without him…" his voice finally broke on the last sentence. "I don't."

He hadn't wanted to cry. Not here, not now, not where everyone's eyes were focused solely on him and slowly growing concerned. But, as usual, it seemed that life had given him no choice in the matter.

The group grew quiet again as Hiro furiously wiped at his eyes, all processing his words one by one. Maiye, who had never been very good at this sort of thing in the first place, wanted to reach out and pull her boyfriend into a hug, but given Hiro's current state, wasn't sure how well it would be received.

"That's why you want Baymax back then," said Fred. "Tadashi built him, so when he's around, it's like still having a piece of him with you." He let out a low whistle. "Yikes, Hiro, why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"

Hiro didn't respond. He didn't know how to.

"We  _all_ miss Tadashi," said Gogo. "You know that. No, we didn't know him the way you did, but…" she sighed. "That doesn't mean we're not willing to listen."

"I still think about him," admitted Honey in a sad tone of voice. "Every day. I think about everything that's been happening in our lives – you and Maiye, our schoolwork, this team – and how he's not here to see it." She looked up at Hiro with sad green eyes. "And it  _hurts._ "

"Even though I never got to meet your brother," said Maiye. "I can tell just from his friends that he must have been a pretty great guy. I might not know a lot about him, but," she paused. "I  _do_  know a thing or two about loss."

Hiro paused for a moment and looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, everyone," he said.

"Hey," Getting up from his chair, Wasabi came over and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're allowed to be upset, Hiro. Just don't forget that you're not alone here, okay?"

"We're all here for you," said Fred. "Always. Even if it's three am during finals week," He laughed lightly. "We're here."

" _And,_ " cut in Gogo. "We are  _not_  letting you do this alone."

Hiro's eyes widened. "But Yama-"

"But Yama nothing," said Gogo firmly. "We're a team, we're going with you. End of discussion."

"Fine," Hiro let out a sigh. "So, does anyone have any ideas on how we're going to get Baymax back – in one piece, might I add?"

"Well, I did a little thinking," said Fred. "And I think I've come up with something good here, if you guys are interested…"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the team was suited up and on their way to Akuma Island via a small, discreet motorboat, loaned to them by Fred's father. The family butler himself, Heathcliff, had offered to be the one to drive it over, and would also be the one to guide the authorities when they showed up.

The plan was set. Hiro was going to enter the facility by himself in order to trick Yama into thinking he truly had come alone, while the others would stake out hiding places nearby if – when – things started to go wrong. Since no one was quite certain of what Yama and his gang had done to Baymax, they would have to be ready for anything that came their way – Yama was not known for being a merciful man, especially against those he felt had wronged him.

Hiro had once been the same way. But lucky for him, he'd learned a thing or two since his days in the botfighting ring.

Even now, as the team got closer and closer to their destination, Hiro was feeling a mix of several different emotions at once. Anger. Uneasiness. Fury. Grief. They threatened to overwhelm him.

From beside him though, he could feel Maiye's arm wrapped tightly around him, almost possessively at that. Although her face was as calm and placid as the sea beneath them, Hiro could clearly see the worry in her eyes.

He wanted to comfort her. Right at that moment, Hiro wanted nothing more than to pull Maiye into his arms and hug her tightly, which he knew would make her smile, all while assuring her that everything would turn out okay in the end. But he didn't know for sure. It was Yama they were talking about, after all. Anything could happen.

Instead, since he wasn't wearing his big heavy gloves yet, he reached a hand up and gently laced his fingers through hers, giving them a light squeeze, and sent what he hoped was a comforting smile in her direction. In response, he got a tight-lipped, worried grin in return.

"Master Fred," Heathcliff turned to face the group. "I believe we are almost there."

Sure enough, when the team looked up, they saw that he was right. Off in the distance, Akuma Island loomed ominously, even in the bright sunshine.

"Here we are," said Fred. "Thanks, Heathcliff."

"Do we remember the plan?" asked Wasabi.

Everyone nodded.

"And we know what to do whe – I mean if – things go wrong?"

Nodding again, slower this time.

"Alright," Wasabi stood as the boat pulled up to shore. "Let's do this, guys."

After thanking Heathcliff and making sure he had his own communications device, the team disembarked the boat and began to walk. Hiro went ahead of the others, just in case Yama's goons were already watching them, and spent several minutes navigating through the dense, overgrown forest. Finally, the facility came into their line of view.

Instead of entering from the shipping area, where they were more likely to be spotted, the team instead had Heathcliff drop them off on the other side of the island, where they would be able to sneak up on Yama from behind. The back side of the facility wasn't unlike its counterpart, except for the fact that the area was landlocked and the chain-link fence surrounding it was all but gone. The only thing that could be clearly seen from this angle was the old metal door that was once used as a secondary entrance.

Once the team was close enough to see the facility but not be potentially spotted by anyone, they grouped up.

"I think it's time now." Wasabi straightened his shoulders and glanced down at Hiro. "You ready, little man?"

Hiro nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be," he said.

"Good luck, man," said Fred.

"We'll be right nearby if you need us," said Honey.

"And remember," Gogo spoke last. "No matter what we find in there, no matter what those lunatics have done to Baymax, we're still a team." She nodded at the others. "We've got this."

"Let's get in place then," said Wasabi as he and the others began to move. "Best of luck, Hiro."

As the others began moving forward, Maiye hung back for a moment.

"I'll be right there, guys," she said. "I just, uh, need a minute."

The group exchanged glances, but only Honey was the one to respond for all of them, "Okay."

Once the others were a decent distance away, Maiye turned back towards Hiro. Judging by her demeanor, it was clear that she was already on edge.

"Be careful in there," she said.

"I will be," promised Hiro.

"Don't do anything outrageous, okay?"

Hiro smiled gently at her. "I won't."

Grabbing him by the shoulders, Maiye pulled Hiro forward and kissed him quickly on the lips, before enveloping him in a tight hug. Hiro returned the hug and rested his chin against her shoulder.

Once they pulled away, Maiye opened her mouth, as if she was going to speak again, but apparently changed her mind and closed it again.

"Ah," she shifted in place, an uncharacteristic action on her part. "Yeah, like I said,  _please_  be careful in there, okay Hiro?"

"Oh." Hiro was caught off guard. "I-I will be, don't worry."

"Okay." And just like that, Maiye spun around and ran off to join the others, leaving a slightly confused Hiro in her wake.

 _That was strange,_ he thought.  _Since when does Maiye act nervous like that? I know this is a serious situation, but it's not like her._ He sighed. Apparently Baymax being kidnapped had taken more of a toll on everyone than he'd thought.

Once the rest of the group was completely out of sight and hidden around the corner from the entrance, ready and waiting, Hiro turned towards the facility and gulped. Had it  _always_  been this big? He'd had a growth spurt since the last time he'd been here, shouldn't it appear  _smaller_  than before?

Gathering his courage, Hiro took a deep breath and began walking towards the door, doing his very best to ignore the way his heart raced inside his chest.

 _Keep it together, man,_  he told himself.  _Yama will know if you're nervous._

A few seconds later, Hiro arrived up at the dilapidated entrance and knocked on the thick metal door. It opened instantly, and there stood Ren. As usual, she looked incredibly bored, as if answering the door for Hiro was some huge task she was too lazy to do. When she saw him though, she snickered.

"Half an hour to spare," she pointed out. "Not bad, kid."

"I like to be punctual," Hiro glared. "Especially when I'm dealing with criminals."

"Whatever," Ren rolled her eyes. "You're alone, right?"

Hiro raised his arms. "Do you see anyone else with me?"

Glancing around the immediate area, Ren saw that it was devoid of people and narrowed her eyes.

"Well how about that," she said. "You actually know how to take orders." She sighed. "Let's go then, Yama doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Turning around, Ren began walking the path inside the facility, motioning for Hiro to follow, letting the door fall shut behind them. Once they got inside, the rest of the team immediately sprang into action. Latching themselves onto Fred's suit, Fred used his superjump to get them all up onto the rooftop.

On the roof, there were a series of skylights that, at one point, allowed natural lighting into the facility on sunnier days. Something about an old "go green," initiative that Krei had once tried to employ. After the facility was abandoned though, the elements had taken over and the glass was all but gone, save for a few broken shards still attached to the framing. These skylights continued all the way down the long hallway, and into the main lab once used for demonstrating new technology. Their existence allowed the team to keep an eye on Hiro, and jump into action when they needed his help.

Stepping quietly, the team followed Hiro and Ren as she led him down the long, empty hallway, consistently littered with broken bits of steel and old papers as far as the eye could see. As they walked, Ren began talking.

"It's too bad you left the botfighting ring for good," she was saying. "With your brains, you and Yama could have made one hell of a team." She laughed. "Sucks that you were dumb enough to get on his bad side!"

From behind her, Hiro remained silent and gritted his teeth. He couldn't lose his cool, not yet. Stealing a quick glance upwards, he saw the skylights and the brief flash of the rest of the team above him. The sight was enough to make him calmer, even if only a little.

About a minute later, they came up to a wide set of double doors, where two burly, tattooed men were standing guard and looking very intimidating.

"What's the password?" one of them asked.

"Screw you," said Ren. "You know who I am!"

The guard wasn't fazed. "What's the password?" he asked again.

"The password is," hissed Ren. "That you two will be out of a job if you're the reason this kid doesn't get to Yama. God, don't they tell you  _anything_  around here?"

Exchanging a quick glance, the two guards moved aside and opened the doors for Ren and Hiro. At this point, Ren reached down for Hiro's arm in order to yank him forward.

He pulled his arm back and glared at her. "I can walk!" he snapped.

"Fine, whatever," Ren rolled her eyes again and muttered something about trying to be polite as she entered through the double doors and into the wide testing area for the labs. She then came to an abrupt stop, nearly causing Hiro to crash into her from behind. Ignoring him, she said one thing, and one thing only.

"We're here."

Before Hiro could formulate a response, Ren set a hand on his back and gave him a firm shove forward, causing him to lose his balance. Once he caught it, he was just in time to see her disappear behind the heavy metal doors, leaving him to his fate. Taking a deep breath, Hiro mentally prepared himself and stepped into the main testing area.

_I'm not afraid._

"Well!" A booming voice suddenly echoed throughout the room. "How nice of you to  _finally_  join us!"

Spinning around, Hiro's gaze went up to the balcony that once held a control panel, and found Yama sitting there instead.

He looked exactly the same as he did when Hiro last saw him, at the last botfight he'd ever been at. This time, however, instead of a purple sweatshirt and matching pants, he was dressed in a sharp gray suit with pinstripes, a mustard-yellow shirt, and expensive-looking leather shoes. A matching fedora sat on top of his head, effectively hiding the bald spot Hiro knew he had.

Instead of a regular office chair or folding chair, Yama was sitting on an expensive-looking leather sofa. He was such a large man that whenever he moved, the springs creaked and groaned under his weight. The only light source in the large room came from the skylights above, giving Yama an almost ominous glow.

"I must say," came Yama's booming voice. "This is  _such_  a pleasant surprise!"

Hiro glared up at him. "Wish I could say the same."

Yama merely chuckled in response. "How nice to see that after all this time, you've still retained your charming sense of humor." He smiled. "I think Aimi would agree, wouldn't you Aimi?"

"Hello Hiro!" From Yama's side, Aimi waved excitedly and giggled. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Again," Hiro said evenly. "I really can't say the same."

Aimi pouted, and Hiro turned back towards Yama.

"Enough of this." He said at last. "You and I both know I'm not here for some social visit. Now tell me,  _where is Baymax?_ "

"Your little robot?" Yama chuckled. "He's nearly ready. My friends are just putting some finishing touches on him, that's all."

" _What_ ," hissed Hiro. "Have you done to him?"

"Like I said," shrugged Yama. "I've improved him. You know Hiro," he continued. "Your brother had a brilliant mind, but absolutely  _no_  concept of how to use it." He laughed aloud. "Guess that's why he ran headfirst into a burning building, am I right?"

His words cut into Hiro like a knife, and he visibly flinched at the mere mention of his brother's death. Yama didn't miss a beat.

"Still painful for you, right Hiro?" He laughed again. "Boy, you don't even  _know_  what true pain is. But trust me," He gave an evil grin. "I'm more than happy to show you."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Hiro began to feel the ground shake. From the far corner of the room, a large, imposing figure was emerging from the shadows and into the sparse sunlight. It was dressed in thick, steel armor, black in color, and covered from head to toe. The only thing not covered by the armor was the figure's red, glowing eyes. That alone was what caused Hiro to recognize them, and in a tiny, fearful voice, chocked out only one word.

" _Baymax?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn't mean to end on another cliffhanger you guys, I swear. It just happened. The chapter was already getting really long in my notebook and even longer on my computer, so I decided to end it here. For now, at least. Ah, and by the way... *meekly offers tissue boxes for anyone who needs them* Sorry.
> 
> But in any case, so far so good - well, for the story, at least. The rest of it is all planned out and I have a tentative schedule of when updates will occur. If things go according to plan, the next chapter should come in about two weeks. If life gets even busier for me between now and then (which might very well happen), it could be a little longer. Either way though, it's coming.
> 
> So now there's a plan, and it's been put into motion - for both myself, and the characters of this story. There's so much I'd like to say about what's to come ahead, but I don't want to risk giving anything away! I've got so much planned out, and I'd like for you guys to be surprised (there are a couple of things coming that I really can't wait to see your reactions to). So for now, I suppose I'll just have to thank you for your support (because I really do appreciate it), and pick things up in chapter twelve.
> 
> Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for some nice fall weather,
> 
> Liz


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For starters, I would just like to apologize to everyone for how long it took me to get this up. I had originally planned on updating this story at least two weeks ago, but my life got super busy and I hadn't had time to finish writing the chapter. I was hoping to get it done and posted over the course of Columbus Day weekend, but I got really busy then as well (little tip: when you come home from college, even for a short amount of time, everybody will want to see you, not even joking).
> 
> But, to make up for the long wait, instead of shortening this lengthy chapter like I thought I should, I have decided to leave it as is. And once you read the chapter, hopefully you will understand why I wanted to spend extra time on it.
> 
> Anyways, that's all I have to say for now, and again, I'm sorry for making you wait so long. Now on with the show!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

 

This was a nightmare. A true, living, honest-to-god nightmare. Hiro shut his eyes tightly, hoping and praying that he would wake up soon. That he had just fallen asleep in his lab again on a late night. That one of his friends would come in and shake him awake at any moment, asking if he wanted a coffee or something. That this really and truly  _wasn't_  happening.

But alas, he was wrong.

When Hiro opened his eyes, Baymax was still standing before him – that is, what  _used_ to be Baymax was standing before him. In any case, it was clear by the thick steel armor and piercing red eyes that this was no longer the friendly healthcare robot Tadashi had built with his own two hands. Anything that made Baymax, well,  _Baymax,_  was already gone.

From their hidden positions above, the reactions of the others were a mix of shock, horror, and for everyone but Maiye, a terrifying callback to the first time they had seen Baymax like this. Back then though, Hiro had been the cause of his destructive behavior.

And, deep down, he wondered if he was the cause of it this time too.

"Well?" boomed Yama's voice from his high perch above. "What do you think? Wonderful, isn't he?"

"What have you done to him?" Hiro whispered, only to himself.

Somehow, Yama managed to hear him anyways, and he laughed.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small remote control, not unlike the ones he used to use at botfights, and unfolded it in his hands. With the press of a button, Baymax's stance steadied, and his modified rocket fist raised in Hiro's direction.

"You wanted a botfight?" sneered Yama. "Now you've got one."

Another button pressed, and Baymax's rocket fist flew off his arm and directly towards Hiro. Thinking quickly, Hiro dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way just in time.

From the console above, there came yelling and shouting as the Fujitas and Yama's gang gathered around their boss, cheering him on and taunting Hiro in the process. There was no doubt about it, Hiro was back in the botfighting ring.

Only this time, Tadashi wasn't there to save him.

Before Hiro could scramble to his feet, Baymax was already charging in his direction, fist raised and ready to strike again. Judging by how close he was and how fast he was going, Hiro knew he had no hope of getting out of the way in time. Instead, he shut his eyes tightly and prayed his death would be quick and painless.

However, when he braced himself for the inevitable impact, it never came. Opening his eyes, Hiro saw none other than Maiye – calm, cool, collected Maiye – crouched protectively in front of him, breathing heavily, and looking far more furious than he had ever seen throughout their relationship. Beside her, Baymax's rocket fist lay in a haphazard heap, dented on the spot where she had violently kicked it aside. If she weren't on the side of Big Hero 6, then at this moment, Hiro would be absolutely terrified.

Instead though, he couldn't be more relieved to see her.

"Maiye!" he cried, scrambling to his feet.

"Hiro!" All the anger and fury that had been on her face only moments before melted away into worry and concern for his well-being. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" he yelled back.

From above, however, Yama was not.

"You little  _fool!_ " He snarled. Then, turning towards those gathered around him, gave an order.

"Kill them!" He roared at the top of his lungs. "Kill them  _all!_ "

Obeying his orders, the Fujitas, accompanied by various gang members, began leaping off the console, scrambling down ladders, and charging towards the others. By this point, the rest of the team had jumped down to join Hiro and Maiye, and knew all too well what they would be up against. As the six of them grouped together, sans Baymax, Wasabi was the first to speak up.

"Do we have a plan, guys?" He questioned.

"Take them all out!" yelled Gogo.

"But what about Baymax?" asked Hiro.

"Unless you know a way to shut him down," said Maiye. "We've got no choice."

"No!" cried Hiro. "I'll find another way!"

The group was then forced to duck as another one of Baymax's rocket fists came flying towards them, scattering dust and debris in its wake.

Wasabi visibly winced. "You want to rethink that plan, little buddy?"

"The remote control!" cried Honey. "If you can somehow get it away from Yama, then we can shut Baymax down without hurting him."

"I can do it!" volunteered Hiro.

The others were dubious, and Honey spoke up first.

"Are you sure, Hiro?" she asked. "Because I really think you should – AH!"

Her words were cut off by a scream as Ren swung one of her swords in her direction, and she dodged to narrowly avoid being cut in half. The others had found themselves in similar predicaments as well, being attacked at all angles by gang members and Fujitas alike.

"Do what you have to!" yelled Maiye as she narrowly avoided being hit by Aimi's spiked ball. "Just be careful!"

"And  _hurry!_ " hollered Fred as he found himself being tackled to the ground by gang members.

While the others were engaged in battle with members of Yama's gang, Hiro ducked and swerved swiftly through the melee, just narrowly avoiding the blasts that Baymax still fired in his direction. Running over to the ladder, he scrambled up until he was at the very top, standing face to face with Yama himself.

Yama didn't seem surprised to see him at all. Instead, he merely chuckled.

"Leaving your friends to fight your battles, are we?" He sighed and shook his head sadly, fingers never leaving the remote control. "Typical coward, all bark and no bite." He laughed. "I expected nothing less."

That was the last straw. Raising his fist, still covered by his heavy glove, Hiro slammed it directly into Yama's face, relishing in the sickening crunch that could only indicate a broken nose.

The large man gave a cry of both surprise and pain as his hands flew up towards his face, the remote falling from his hands and clattering noisily to the floor. He swore loudly as blood began to pour forth from his nose, through his fingers, and onto his expensive, pinstriped suit.

Meanwhile, Hiro was full of absolute rage, seething with hatred for the bleeding crime lord before him. In the span of just a few short weeks, this man – if it was even fair to call him that – had successfully made Hiro's life into a living, breathing hell. He'd been the one inflicting pain not only upon Hiro and those he loved most, but an entire city full of innocent people. And now look at what he'd done to Baymax – the very last piece of Tadashi that Hiro had left – possibly corrupted beyond repair.

There would be  _hell to pay._

Storming over to Yama, Hiro yanked him up by the lapels of his suit jacket and hoisted him up so that they were face to face.

"You want to call me a coward," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "When  _you're_  the one hiding away up here?" He laughed humorlessly. "That's rich. You think you're so tough?" Hiro glared at him. "Why not fight me yourself then?"

Yama's face quickly became a mask of rage as he stared down the boy in front of him. "You wanna  _fight,_  little boy?" He bellowed. "Fine! Let's  _fight!_ "

He slammed his fist directly into Hiro's stomach, causing the younger boy to cry out and gasp for air as the wind was knocked out of his system. He stumbled back a few feet, trying to catch his breath, as Yama began to advance on him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team had taken out most of the gang members, but were still struggling to subdue all three of the Fujitas. When they realized what Hiro was doing, Honey was the first to cry out,

" _Hiro!"_

Hearing her voice, Gogo turned around to see Hiro stumbling backwards, being approached by Yama. "What the  _hell_  is he doing?!" she yelled.

"Getting what he deserves!" Kyoko stopped attacking Gogo just long enough to laugh out loud. "Dumb brat."

It was then that Gogo took the opportunity to nail her in the back of the head with one of her metallic disks, knocking her flat to the ground. That was enough.

From nearby, Ren had caught Fred off guard, and was now swinging at him with twin swords as the latter staggered out of her way. However, he didn't manage to get out of her way quickly enough, and one of her swords struck him in the arm.

"Augh!" He screamed as the sword cut through the fabric of his suit and through to the skin, leaving a deep gash in its wake. His hand instinctively flew to the injured area, trying to prevent further injury, as Ren began to advance on him further.

She gave a low laugh as she raised her swords above her head, ready to bring them down upon Fred's wounded form. "Say goodnight, Freddie!"

However, before she could make the final swing, Ren found her hands suddenly glued together by a sticky blue substance.

"Huh?!" she cried, trying to pry them apart. "What the-?!"

A fist suddenly appeared out of nowhere and smashed directly into the side of Ren's face, causing her to cry out in surprise and take a swift tumble to the floor. The sticky substance on her hands prevented her from being able to pick herself up, so she could do nothing but struggle in place and be subjected to the vehement glare of her attacker.

"Don't you  _ever,_ " Gogo whispered viciously. "Touch him  _again._ "

Before Ren could respond, Gogo immediately spun around and ran to Fred's side in order to inspect his injury. As she started yanking back the torn piece of his suit, Fred tried to be as calm as possible about the situation at hand.

"It's not that bad, Gogo," he insisted. "Really, it's okay."

Ignoring him, she didn't stop tugging until his arm was exposed and she could see for herself just how bad it was. Once she saw the deep gash on his arm, she pulled the fabric back over the wound and pressed down as hard as she could. She and Honey then began the process of getting him out of the facility as quickly as possible.

"Hey!" shrieked Ren as they half-dragged, half-carried Fred to safety. "You can't just  _leave_  me here!"

"Actually," Wasabi grinned. "I think they can."

Ren swore loudly in frustration and turned her head to the direction where Aimi had previously been swinging her spiked ball at Maiye's head. Now though, the small blonde girl had stopped attacking Maiye long enough to notice what was happening, and now stood tittering uncontrollably.

"Don't just stand there!" yelled Ren angrily. "Stop laughing and help me get out of this!"

But Aimi didn't stop laughing. In fact, Ren's outburst had caused her to laugh even more. And why shouldn't she? It was just so funny! Hiro had showed up to fight Baymax just like he said he would, only he'd lied and brought his silly little friends with him, including that one nasty girl who'd stolen him away from Aimi. Now Baymax wasn't working and Hiro wasn't fighting and all their hard work had been for absolutely, unequivocally nothing.

And what wasn't funny about  _that?!_

As Aimi continued her maniacal laughing and began rolling around on the facility's floor, Maiye took the opportunity to run over to where Wasabi was positioned with Baymax. Taking advantage of Baymax's current immobility, he had opened the robot up in the back to take a look at the system and wiring inside.

"Well?" asked Maiye, coming up beside him. "What do you see?"

"It's kind of hard to tell," Wasabi squinted at the masses of wires and metal, which confused Maiye until she remembered that his major was combined physics and microbiology, not computer engineering. He continued, "I think they might have done something to mess with his artificial intelligence data."

Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small black box that had been rewired onto Baymax's inner skeleton, looking obviously out of place amongst the bright and pristine nature of the rest of him. He pointed it out to Maiye.

"I definitely don't remember Tadashi putting that there."

"I don't think he did," said Maiye. "I think that was Yama's doing."

"That must be how he's able to control Baymax then," said Wasabi. "The transmission from the remote links up with this and overrides the healthcare protocol."

"Right," said Maiye. "But we can't take it out while Baymax is still active. If we want to get him back to the way he was, then we need to shut him down via remote control first."

"And if we can't do that?"

"Then," Maiye said quietly. "We do it the old fashioned way."

They both remained silent for a moment as they considered the repercussions such an action might have. Wasabi let out a sigh.

"We can't let that happen," he said determinedly. "Let's get that remote."

"If you stay here with Baymax," said Maiye. "I can grab it myself."

"Sounds like a plan," replied Wasabi. "Good luck."

Maiye nodded quickly before she dashed towards the ladder and clambered up to the console. On its surface, Hiro and Yama were still engaged in some pretty fierce hand-to-hand combat. For such a large man, Yama was proving to be  _quite_ the opponent, especially against someone as small and agile as Hiro. For every punch, kick, and jab that Yama threw in his direction, he was just barely able to dodge it, and even throw a few counterpunches in return. No doubt about it, Tadashi had taught him well.

But from her standpoint, Maiye could tell he was starting to lose his strength. Every time he made a grab for the remote, Yama would swiftly cut him off, forcing him to stumble and redirect his attention elsewhere. As a result, the remote lay stationary on the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Maiye rushed forward and scooped the device up in her hands. As far as remote controls went, this one looked pretty simple, similar to that of a video game controller. A very  _thin_ controller, that is. It had a control pad to the left, a set of buttons to the right, and one big red power button directly in the middle.

 _Well,_  Maiye smirked to herself as the button appeared right in her line of view.  _That was easy._  Wasting no time, she positioned her index finger directly on top of the button and slammed it down.

From the corner of his eye, Yama finally caught on to what was happening. "No!" he yelled.

But it was too late. Baymax's glowing red eyes immediately dimmed and his form began to shake, before slumping over and shutting down completely.

"Yes!" Wasabi pumped a victory fist in the air, and Maiye gave a satisfied smirk in Yama's direction.

Grinning triumphantly, Hiro rushed over towards Maiye and grabbed the remote from her hands. Then, turning back towards Yama, he taunted,

"Who's the zero  _now?_ "

Without breaking eye contact with the crime lord, Hiro took the controller and promptly snapped it in half, tossing the pieces aside.

That was the final straw.

" _YOU!"_  He thundered in Hiro's direction.  _"YOU HAVE RUINED_ _ **EVERYTHING!"**_

In one swift move, he stormed over to Hiro, grabbed him by the throat, and hoisted him high into the air.

"You little  _fool!"_  he roared, his fingers tightening with every second. "You thought you could defeat  _ME?!_  Well," he narrowed his eyes at him.  _"YOU_ _ **THOUGHT WRONG!"**_

Hiro found himself struggling to breathe and began gasping for air as he tried to free himself from Yama's grasp, legs kicking with the effort.

"Hiro!" Maiye screamed and began to rush forward, but stopped short when Yama pulled out a loaded shotgun and pointed it at her head.

"One more step," he hissed. "And you're both goners."

"Stop this!" yelled Wasabi from the facility floor, sounding more panicked than anyone had ever heard him before. "Why are you doing this? What did Hiro ever do to you?!"

"What did he  _do?!_ " Yama laughed and grasped Hiro's throat even tighter. "This little brat has  _humiliated_  me again and again! And now," Yama glared hatefully at the young genius. "He's going to  _pay._ "

"Leave him alone!" screamed Maiye. "Leave him  _alone!_ "

Throughout the encounter, Hiro's movements were gradually becoming less and less erratic the longer he was deprived from oxygen. He tried to call out to Maiye and Wasabi, tell them not to worry, but he didn't have the strength. The most he could do was cough and try to breathe as the world around him slowly became more blurry. He struggled until his body went limp and he lost all consciousness.

Maiye's jaw dropped in horror and Yama let out an evil laugh as he loosened his grip on Hirio's throat and tossed him aside like dirty laundry. Once that was done, he pointed the handgun in Maiye's direction.

"Time to say goodnight, sweetheart." He laughed. "It's been a  _pleasure_  knowing you."

Before he could pull the trigger, a small dart suddenly flew out of nowhere and stuck itself into Yama's thick, meaty neck.

"What the-?!" was all he managed to cry out before his eyes rolled back into his head and he tumbled to the floor with a loud  _crash._  Maiye spun around to see where the projectile had come from, considering all of hers had been used up, and was surprised to see none other than,

"Baymax!"

Sure enough, the healthcare robot himself was the one who threw the dart at Yama and knocked him out. Now, stripped of his threatening armor and alternative programming, he was back to his usual, squishy self.

"Hello," he said, waving in Maiye's direction. "I noticed that you were in danger, so I decided to help."

From the floor, Ren's normally monotonous voice suddenly rang out in rage.

"Oh,  _[censored]!_ " she yelled.  _"[CENSORED]!"_

"You've really done it now, haven't you?"

Having finally come to, Kyoko now glared back and forth between Maiye and the others, shaking her head.

"You've done it now!"

"They've done it now!" Aimi echoed playfully, her body still wracking with giggles as she darted about the room. "Done done done done  _done!_ "

Kyoko ran up the ladder and over to Yama's supine from, before spinning towards Maiye and glaring hatefully in her direction.

"You don't realize what you've just started," she hissed dangerously. Then, turning towards the others, she yelled,

"Girls! Let's get out of here!"

"Okay!" Aimi giggled again and rushed back to the group, hopping in place. It was then that Maiye and Wasabi noticed that while they were occupied, Aimi had been rushing around the facility, pulling out little red boxes and arranging them in formation around the edges. Then, helping Ren to her feet, she reached into her teammate's pocket and pulled out a tiny remote control with only one, red button. She smiled sweetly up at Maiye.

Maiye's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her. "No!" she yelled.

But Aimi didn't listen. She pressed the button, the boxes exploded, and before anyone knew it, the entire room was engulfed in flames.

"Yay!" Aimi jumped up and down and clapped her hands, giggling maniacally all the way.

"Oh my god!" screamed Wasabi.  _"OH MY_ _ **GOD!**_ **"**

Maiye's hands flew to her cheeks and into her hair as Kyoko laughed spitefully.

"Guess you should've thought twice before showing up here!" she said, dragging Yama's limp body away from the area. "Sayonara, kiddies!"

"Bye bye!" Aimi waved goodbye as she dashed out behind Kyoko, dragging the still-incapacitated Ren behind her.

Once they were gone, Maiye immediately rushed over to Hiro's unconscious form and knelt down beside him.

"Hiro!" she cried, trying her best to shake him awake. "No…"

Yanking back on his chestplate, Maiye temporarily removed it and pressed one ear against his chest, nearly sobbing with relief when she discovered a faint heartbeat. When she placed two fingers against the side of his neck to check for a pulse, she found one.

"Maiye!"

Turning around, Maiye saw Wasabi rushing towards her, carrying a limp and battery-drained Baymax over his shoulder.

"How's he doing?"

"He's got a pulse," said Maiye. "That's all that matters."

"Thank god." Wasabi breathed a sigh of relief, quickly cut short by a cough. "This whole place is coming down!" he said. "We have to get out of here  _now!_ "

"I agree," Maiye responded, lifting Hiro into her arms. "Lead the way!"

Wasabi nodded quickly and began rushing towards the edge of the console, leaping to the floor. Maiye followed close behind, hissing slightly as one of the flames brushed against her ankle through her thick armor. She followed Wasabi towards the exit to the hallway, where they'd seen Hiro come in, only to be met with a thick wall of fire.

"Yikes!" cried Wasabi as he hurried to shut the door again.

"Now what?" yelled Maiye.

Glancing around the room, Wasabi spotted another door and made a break for it as Maiye continued to follow behind him, clutching Hiro's unresponsive body as she ran.  _Has he_ _ **always**_ _been this light…?_

Throwing open the door, Wasabi ran through to the hallway before him and Maiye, still carrying Baymax's inactive form over his shoulders, military-style. He quickly rounded one corner, then another, dodging fire and flames from every direction. Yama apparently wanted to go out with a bang, for he'd planned this far too well. Like a puppetmaster.

Wasabi then came to another large room, also engulfed in fire and burning brightly, just like all the others. His eyes were brimming with tears from the thick black smoke, and the heat caused his entire body to be covered in a layer of sweat. Maiye was clearly in the same boat as he was, because when he kept glancing back to check on her and Hiro, she was clearly panting from exhaustion.

Despite that, not once did she ever loosen her grip on Hiro.

As the building burned, the infrastructure also burned with it. From above, thick beams began to come undone from their bolts and shift in place. Once suddenly broke off completely and crashed to the floor, right between the space between Maiye and Wasabi.

Maiye cried out and leaped back from the burning beam, trying to make sure Hiro didn't feel the effects as well. "Wasabi!" Maiye yelled over the inferno. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" he yelled back. "But I can't see you!"

Before either of them could say another word, the flames that separated them suddenly increased in height and intensity, blocking each other from sight completely. Save for Hiro, Maiye was now entirely alone.

The thought of being trapped in here forever and never getting out alive was enough to fill Maiye with utmost anxiety, and for a moment, she began to panic.  _No._  she told herself firmly. She had to pull herself together. If not for her sake, then at least for Hiro's.

Looking down at the boy in her arms she had grown so fond of, still unconscious from his ordeal, Maiye made him a silent promise.

 _You are_ _ **not**_ _going to die in here,_ she thought.  _And neither am I._

Turning around, Maiye spotted a huge broken window from across the room and made a break for it, continuously jumping and dodging to avoid flames along the way. Still clutching Hiro, she leaped through the window and into the old office behind it. Once she was through, she reached up to adjust her headset and suddenly heard Wasabi's voice, clear as day.

"Maiye! Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she yelled back. "I just went through one of the offices! What about you?"

"Almost out!" came his response. "But I can barely see!"

"Guys!" Honey's voice suddenly broke through the connection. "I can see smoke coming from the building! What happened?"

"We had a bit of a situation," explained Wasabi. "What's happening on your end?"

"The police and fire departments showed up on boats," said Honey. "Heathcliff must have called them. They brought ambulances too, which is where Fred and Gogo are right now. But what about you guys?!" she sounded frantic. "I haven't heard from Hiro at all, where is he?!"

"Baymax didn't kill Hiro," responded Maiye. "So Yama tried to do it himself. He's alive, but once we get out of here, he's going to need medical attention."

"Got it!" said Honey. "I'll let them know. But hurry!"

"I will!" promised Maiye as she rushed through yet another doorway, almost completely engulfed in fire. The air was so thick now that she could barely breathe, and every time she tried, it was a struggle.

But she couldn't stop. Not even for a minute. For if she did, she would surely pass out, and that wouldn't be good for either her  _or_  Hiro.

Maiye quickly glanced down at the boy she still held in her arms, the boy she'd never expected to fall head over heels for, but most certainly did. She could still feel a faint pulse at the side of his neck. That meant something, but if they didn't find a way out of this – and  _soon_  – there wouldn't be one.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Maiye came to another enormous room, probably once a storage facility for when the building was actually government property. On the far end, she could see a small rectangular patch of sky blue – their way out!

Maiye rushed forward at a breakneck speed, but alas, she wasn't quick enough. Something else was in the storage facility too, whether it had been left there accidentally or on purpose was uncertain. One thing was absolutely certain, though.

Fire and propane tanks didn't mix.

As she got closer and closer to the exit, from the corner of her eye, Maiye could see the flames getting closer and closer to where the tanks were. There was no way that she and Hiro would make it out of there before they reached them, that was for sure. Maiye knew what she had to do.

As she continued her run towards the exit, Maiye pulled Hiro's body as close as she possibly could, curling around him protectively and holding him tighter than she ever allowed herself throughout their entire relationship.

* * *

_First day of college._

_So far, very uneventful._

_At least, in comparison to moving across the country, attending a weeklong orientation, and celebrating her seventeenth birthday with her family._

_And now this._

_Being the early bird she was, Maiye had shown up to her first class ten minutes too early and taken a seat at the very front. Sipping her green tea as nonchalantly as possible, she got out her materials and waited._

_Two minutes later (not that she was counting, of course), someone else entered the small room. He looked so young that Maiye wondered for a moment if he could_ _**really** _ _be a student here, and not some professor's kid. He had tousled black hair which he consistently ran one hand through and wide brown eyes that seemed to look right through everything they saw. Those same eyes soon fell upon the empty seat right next to her, and he gestured to it with one hand._

" _May I…?"_

_She'd shrugged. "Go right ahead."_

_He plopped himself down next to her and, opening his backpack, began to organize his materials: a spiral notebook, some sharpened pencils, and a worn-out, blue journal with writing on the cover. Once he'd finished that, he reached into his bag again, pulled out what Maiye recognized to be an energy drink, and took a sip._

_She couldn't accept that. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out,_

" _Those things will kill you."_

_He spun around to look at her, and Maiye immediately wished she hadn't said anything at all. Who_ _**says** _ _those kinds of things anyways, especially to someone they've just met whose name they didn't even know? **Nice one Maiye** , she thought, quickly averting her gaze from his.  **Great first impression.**_

_To her surprise though, he wasn't looking at her strangely. In fact, he looked kind of amused at what she'd just said. Her suspicions were confirmed when he smiled in her direction, clearly showing off a gap between his two front teeth._

" _Guess I'm gonna die happy then."_

* * *

They were so close to the door now, just a few more feet and they would be free. But so were the flames, Maiye could now feel them licking at her bare arms. She pushed past the minute amounts of pain and forced herself further towards their proverbial end of the tunnel.

It still wasn't enough.

Once the fire reached the propane tanks, the explosion happened very quickly. Maiye didn't even have time to think twice before the force from the blast hit her in the back and propelled her forward. At this point, it was inevitable.

As her vision faded to black and Hiro slipped from her grasp, Maiye also realized one more very important thing:

She regretted absolutely nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you see why I needed extra time to write this chapter?
> 
> I feel bad for leaving you guys on a cliffhanger again, but alas, I'm afraid it's inevitable at this point. I can tell you though that hopefully, you will not have to wait as long for the next chapter. We're in the home stretch now guys, and this story is so close to being done. That being said, there's still quite a bit to go.
> 
> I'm not sure how many more chapters you can expect of me here, I had originally planned on 15 but I don't think that's going to happen. In any case, I don't plan on going above 20, that's for sure.
> 
> Again, I'm sorry for the extended wait on this update, and I hope you guys can forgive me lol. Reviews are always appreciated, I love getting feedback from you guys :)
> 
> Hope things are going well for you,
> 
> Liz


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I know it's been a while since I've last updated here, and I just wanted to apologize for that. I've reached that point int the semester right before Thanksgiving break, where everything for every class is due all at once. Not to mention since I've been accepted to study abroad next semester, I've had a lot of preparation for that as well (which still isn't done lol). In any case, things have quieted down enough so that I was finally able to finish this chapter and post it (I've been working on it off and on since the last update).
> 
> So once again, I'm very sorry that this took as long as it did, but I hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless. Now, onward and upward!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

Everything hurt.

That was all Maiye could think about as she lay sprawled out on the ground, surrounded on all sides by smoke and flames. She had never felt this kind of pain before, not in her entire life, not even when –  _aaaugh._

Maiye winced harshly and any rational thought she might have had quickly disappeared as her vision blurred and her ears began to ring. Her head was killing her, and she could barely move. Searing pain in her left arm signified that she must have made contact with the fire at some point, because the little armor she had there was already melting and sticking to her skin.

And Hiro was nowhere to be found.

Panicking, Maiye tried to call out to him, tried to scream his name, but instead inhaled a lungful of smoke and began coughing. She wouldn't be able to find him like this, there was no way. But she was  _wrong._  She  _had_ to be… right?

All of a sudden, she was moving. Maiye grimaced and wondered if her head really was beginning to spin again and – nope, someone was dragging her. She could feel them. Whoever it was had grabbed her under the armpits and was currently dragging her away from the inferno. That was kind of them…

Maiye tried to raise her head a little and opened her mouth to say thanks, but before she could, everything began to hurt again and her vision went entirely black.

* * *

_A few minutes later, the room was full, and the professor – an older man with graying hair and a huge mug of coffee – came inside. After giving some introductions and handing out the syllabus, he began to talk about the semester project that would be worth forty percent of their grade, "give or take" (his words, not Maiye's. She was never uncertain about_ _**anything.** _ _) He then went on to talk about how for this project, in order to simulate the sorts of relationships they would someday face in the working world, students would be working in assigned pairs._

_**Oh joy.** _ _Maiye resisted the urge to sigh heavily._ _**My favorite.** _

_The professor then went around the room, listing off students with their various backgrounds and majors, paring them off in what he called, "explosive partnerships that could change your_ _**entire** _ _world."_

_Maiye merely smiled in response to her professor's antics. Clearly the poor man had been drinking too much coffee that morning if he was already talking like this. She vaguely wondered if this was the kind of behavior she could expect for the rest of the semester._

_When he got to her name, he read off everything she already knew._

" _Maiye Barton," he announced. "First semester Computer Engineering student and graduate from New Yorksea International Prep School at age sixteen." He looked up at her through his thick-rimmed glasses. "Impressive," he said. "Which is why I'm going to pair you with…" He squinted and perused his list for a few more moments before a small smile spread across his face._

" _Hiro Hamada."_

_The younger boy sitting next to Maiye suddenly sat to attention in his chair, straightening his spine as the professor read off his credentials._

" _Second semester Robotics student and graduate from Gakushu Senior High School at age thirteen." The professor smiled as he looked back and forth between the new pair he had formed. "I think you two are going to get along swimmingly."_

_Turning around, Maiye's new lab partner held his hand out for her to shake and grinned in her direction. Outwardly, Maiye accepted his handshake and smiled politely back, but inwardly, she was annoyed. Pairing off the two child geniuses on the very first day of class? Groundbreaking. Where was the challenge in_ _**that,** _ _she wondered?_

_What she didn't realize, however, was that her greatest challenge was currently staring her in the face._

* * *

There was a blur of activity going on outside the burning facility. Firefighters rushed in to try and put out the flames, policemen scoured the grounds in search of remaining criminals, and, from person to person, Maiye's father asked about his oldest child.

"Have you seen my daughter?" He frantically questioned a nearby firewoman. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and quickly flipped to an image of Maiye at her high school graduation, wearing her cap and gown and smiling proudly for the camera.

Peering at the image, the firewoman shook her head no, the sympathy already evident in her eyes. Phillip remained undeterred, instead rushing over to the next person he found to try and get something,  _anything,_  as to where his daughter might be. Finally, he came up to the back of a water ambulance that brought out its wheels and pulled up from the shoreline. Two of Maiye's teammates were sitting inside, the young man in the monster suit and the young woman with the discs. The young woman was sitting with the young man as paramedics treated his arm, gripping his free hand so tightly it was a miracle she didn't break it.

"Have either of you seen Maiye?" questioned Phillip.

"No, sir." The young man answered for both of them as the young woman shook her head, that same sympathetic look already evident in her eyes. It was a look Phillip was already growing weary of, but nonetheless, he thanked the both of them and moved on.

He spotted another one of Maiye's teammates nearby, a young African-American man dressed in a light green supersuit and currently being treated for smoke inhalation. Given the circumstances though, he decided to leave him be.

"Phil!"

Spinning around, Maiye's father saw his partner, a young man with brown hair in his late thirties, run up to him and come to a quick stop.

"Keith!" cried Phillip when he saw his friend. "What's going on?"

"They found Maiye," he panted. "And that other boy too, southwest side of the building."

"Are they alright?"

Keith paused. "Well, here's the thing…"

Phillip didn't wait for an explanation. He wasn't sure if he could take one. Instead, he broke into a run and sprinted over to the part of the building Keith described. What he saw when he got there almost made him wish that he had waited to hear Keith's explanation.

There was Maiye – his daughter, his child, one of the lights of his life – unconscious, and being loaded onto a gurney by paramedics. Whatever happened inside the building had left her bruised, battered, and bloody all over, and the entirety of her left arm was covered in charred, blistered burns. An oxygen mask had been placed over her nose and mouth to keep her airflow going, and paramedics quickly swarmed around her.

"I'm sorry sir," one of them said when they saw Phillip. "But we can't allow you to come any closer."

"That's my  _daughter!_ " he roared, ignoring the paramedic and rushing straight to the side of the gurney.

"Maiye!" he cried. "Can you hear me, sweetheart?" When he got no response, he turned towards another paramedic. "What happened in there?!"

"Explosion, by the looks of it," she responded. "Both her  _and_  the boy. We're handling him over there." She gestured with her head, and Phillip could see Hiro being loaded onto a gurney alongside Maiye in a very similar state.

"We're looking at burns on the left arm," the woman continued. "Along with a definite concussion from the impact, although we're not sure yet how severe. They're bringing the chopper in any minute now."

As if right on cue, the area was suddenly struck by several strong gusts of wind and a space was cleared as the medical helicopter made its touchdown nearby. Once it landed, Hiro and Maiye were quickly loaded, and it was decided that Phillip should be the one to accompany them for the ride.

After he got on, just as soon as it landed, the helicopter flew away towards the nearest hospital. At this point, Phillip could do nothing but sit in the passenger's seat and stare down at his little girl, looking uncharacteristically small and pale amongst all the medical equipment. The last time Phillip had seen his daughter hooked up to this many wires and tubes was shortly after she was born, a little over seventeen years ago.

Never one to be late, she'd come into the world a full two months early at four pounds, five ounces, and eighteen inches. The little baby that was Maiye Louise Barton had been in New Yorksea Women's Hospital for a full two weeks before her mother and father were allowed to take her home. Until then, the exhausted Phillip had spent every night in a cot beside her tiny incubator.

_How long would she have to stay this time?_

Glancing over towards the other gurney, Phillip then saw Hiro, Maiye's very recent boyfriend, lying there, still and unresponsive. The paramedics had alerted his aunt as to what happened, and she would meet them at the hospital once they landed. After losing Hiro's brother only a year before, Phillip could only imagine how sick the poor woman must be feeling right now.

While the paramedics worked on Maiye, Phillip was able to take a good look at the kinds of injuries Hiro had sustained in that building. Like his daughter, the explosion had left him with cuts, scrapes, and bruises, including a particularly dark set around his neck in the shape of a large hand. From behind the oxygen mask he'd been given, Phillip could also see that the boy's lips had taken on a very light – but still visible – shade of blue.

As he looked back and forth between Hiro and Maiye, Phillip felt a pain he hadn't felt for several years now, not since the last time he'd seen his daughter bent and broken beyond repair. He blamed himself for what happened then, and he blamed himself now. He'd allowed her to run headfirst into that building without a second thought, and now she'd paid the price. He hadn't been able to protect her, her friends, or the person she was clearly starting to love.

He'd failed –  _again._

Laying his head in his hands, Phillip leaned forward and, for the first time in a long time, allowed himself to cry.

* * *

_After all the partners had been assigned, the professor then brought his students over to the lab area where they would be working for most of the semester. After listening to him talk a little more about his intentions for the class as a whole, he turned them loose to begin working. Maiye soon found herself following her new lab partner to his own work area and stood behind him as he unlocked the door._

" _I'm sorry if it's a little messy," he apologized. "I haven't had time to clean up lately."_

" _That's fine." Maiye responded. Although messy spaces were her biggest pet peeve, outwardly insulting someone's work area was probably not a good way to make a first impression. As such, she did a very good job of hiding her shock when she finally saw the inside of Hiro's lab._

_Parts. Parts everywhere. Parts in places that parts should not be sitting in._

_It was only the first day of classes. How much work could this guy possibly have already?_

" _Okay then," Hiro sat down at his desk and pulled out an extra chair for Maiye to sit beside him. "It looks like we're gonna be working together a lot, so maybe we should exchange phone numbers to make it easier?"_

" _Sure." Maiye said as she unlocked her device and passed it over to Hiro. Once she got his, she entered her full name, phone number, and email address in the contact folder. He did the same for her, but when Maiye got her phone back, realized he'd added something else which she hadn't given any thought to whatsoever – a photograph of himself, grinning broadly._

_She chuckled out loud when she saw it. "Nice picture," she said._

" _Thanks." Hiro smiled and raised his own phone in her direction. "Now it's your turn."_

" _No," Maiye said, hiding her face behind her hand. "That's not necessary, thank you."_

_Hiro pretended to look crestfallen. "But how else am I gonna tell you apart in my address book?!" he exclaimed._

" _My_ _ **name,**_ _perhaps?" Maiye raised an unamused eyebrow in his direction._

_Her fellow genius wasn't buying it. "Please?" he asked. "I do this for_ _**everyone** _ _in my contact list. Helps me organize better."_

_Judging by the state of his lab, organization_ _**was** _ _something Hiro clearly needed to work on. Maiye merely sighed. "Fine then."_

" _Great!" Hiro immediately brightened up and raised his phone at her again. "Smile!"_

_Maiye smiled politely for the camera, but Hiro still didn't take the photo. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Is your phone broken?"_

" _No," Hiro responded. "It's just that, well, I don't mean to sound rude…" he trailed off slightly. "But… you look like you're in pain."_

_Now that_ _**was** _ _rude! Maiye's jaw dropped as she stared at her lab partner for the semester. The_ _**nerve** _ _of him!_

" _This is how I always smile!" she exclaimed._

" _Really?" Hiro cocked his head slightly to the side. "Because you don't look very happy, that's all."_

_Happy be damned! "Are you going to take the picture or not?" snapped Maiye._

" _I will, I will!" Hiro promised. "I'm sorry. But…" He lowered his phone for a moment as a small grin adorned his features. "I've got a story to tell you."_

_Oh great. They_ _**really** _ _didn't have time for this. Nevertheless, Maiye sighed. "What is it, then?"_

" _It's about my cat," continued Hiro. "His name is Mochi, and we've had him since I was six. And," Hiro's smile became a little wider. "I once tried to give him hover boots."_

_Now_ _**that** _ _got Maiye's attention. "What?!" she asked._

" _Yep!" Hiro was smiling proudly now. "I made them at home, and then I tested them out while my brother was sleeping." Hiro laughed. "I sent our cat flying towards him, and he landed directly on his face."_

" _Oh my gosh." Despite herself, Maiye started laughing. "That's terrible! What on earth were you thinking?"_

" _I was thinking," laughed Hiro. "That his face would make for a great photo op!" He then frowned. "Sadly though, he broke my camera."_

" _Serves you right!" Maiye chuckled and shook her head. "How old were you when you did this, anyways?"_

" _Uh…" Hiro flushed slightly and shifted in his chair. "Last year."_

_Maiye couldn't help it anymore. After hearing that crucial piece of information, she finally let loose in an array of uncontrollable giggles. "You're terrible!" she wheezed. "Absolutely terrible!"_

_She was so busy laughing that she didn't even notice Hiro quietly pulling out his phone, snapping a photo for her contact info, and then putting it away again._

" _Okay," Maiye finally calmed down for a moment and turned back to Hiro. "Do you want your photo now?"_

" _I've already got one." Hiro said smugly._

_**Huh?** _ _Maiye's eyes widened a little as she wondered when that possibly could have happened, but then narrowed again as the facts began to add up._

" _Sneaky," she said at last. "Impressively sneaky."_

" _Admit it though," said Hiro. "It's a_ _ **way**_ _better picture than the first would have been."_

" _Whatever." Maiye rolled her eyes and pulled her laptop up from her bag. "Let's get working on this project now, shall we?"_

* * *

Once the helicopter touched down at the hospital, Maiye and Hiro were immediately unloaded and rushed into the emergency room, while Phillip was directed to wait outside. As he stepped into the waiting room, he spotted his wife, youngest daughter, and Hiro's aunt all sitting together. Heather had wrapped one comforting arm around Cass's shoulders, while Yumi sat comfortably in the other. Upon seeing her husband, Heather set the toddler down on the seat next to her and went over to greet him with a hug, eyes red and mascara long done for.

"How is she?" she asked hoarsely.

"Battered, bruised, and burned," responded Phillip, wiping at his eyes. "Possible concussion too, although they're not sure yet how severe it is. The explosion… it must have thrown her pretty hard."

"Oh god," Heather said softly.

From her seat, Yumi looked up at her parents and cocked her head to one side.

"Sissy sick?" she asked innocently.

"Yes," answered Phillip, trying to keep his voice light so as not to draw suspicion. "Sissy is sick, but she's with the doctors now, and they're going to help her get better."

"That's right, sweetie." Heather tried a smile at her youngest daughter. Pointing towards a small children's table in the corner with paper and crayons, she said, "Why don't you go and make her a get well card? I bet she would  _love_  that!"

"Okay!" Hopping down from her chair, Yumi rushed over to the table and got to work. Once she was far enough away, Heather turned back to Phillip.

"I already know about what happened to Hiro," she continued. "The paramedics called Cass at the café. Honestly," she shook her head in disgust. "What kind of sick person would ever want to hurt a fifteen-year-old boy?"

"You'd be surprised, Heather," Phillip shook his head sadly. "If I had it my way, that guy would already be locked up with no chance of escape."

He let out a sigh, and Heather looked at her husband closely. "I hope you're not blaming yourself for this, Phil," she said at last.

"I didn't protect my kid," responded Phillip. "I let her run straight into that guy's trap without a second thought. What kind of a father does that make me?"

"A father who loves his daughter very much," said Heather firmly. "And needs to stop blaming himself for things beyond his control."

Leaning in, she gave him a quick peck on the lips and embraced him in a tight hug. Phillip hugged her in return, resting his chin on her shoulder and soothingly rubbing her back. Maybe she hadn't been the one to give birth to her, but after everything they'd been through, Maiye was just as much Heather's daughter as she was his.

Upon pulling away, the two of them went over to Aunt Cass and sat down on either side of her. Her shoulders were hunched and her head was bowed, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Reaching into his pocket, Phillip pulled out a handkerchief and handed it over to the distressed woman, while Heather leaned over and held her hand comfortingly.

"Why'd I let him go?" she choked out. "Why did I  _ever_  let him go?"

The three of them sat in extended silence in the empty waiting room, only consisting of themselves and the two-year-old girl still coloring at the table. A few minutes later, the door opened, and an older man in a white lab coat stepped inside. Once they saw him, Heather, Cass, and Phillip all rose to their feet.

"Are you the families of Hiro Hamada and Maiye Barton?" he asked.

"Yes," responded Phillip.

"Am I free to discuss your children's health care in front of each other?"

All three of them nodded, and the doctor turned first towards Heather and Phillip.

"Because of the explosion," he began. "Your daughter has no small amount of injury, but the thing we are most concerned about is the upper portion of her left arm. That area has been subjected to third-degree burns, most likely due to direct contact with the flames. Maiye is currently in emergency surgery to remove dead skin, and we will most certainly be looking at skin grafts in the near future.

"However," he continued. "She is responding well to our other treatments, which include a breathing tube and IV fluids, and her vital signs are all strong. Since she likely has a concussion, we'll have to wait until she's out of surgery to perform a CT scan. Other than that, though," he smiled gently at the two of them. "We think she's going to be okay."

Both parents breathed a sigh of relief, and Phillip could be seen wiping at his eyes. Heather was the first to ask, "When can we see her?"

"Not for at least another hour," explained the doctor. "That's when she gets out of surgery. She'll have a short window of time in which to recover, and then we'll proceed with the CT scan. After that, we'll discuss her recovery."

He then turned towards Aunt Cass. "And now for your son," he began.

"Nephew," she sniffed softly.

"Nephew," corrected the doctor. "Hiro managed to escape the explosion with only a minor amount of injuries, the most prominent being burns and bruises. We were particularly concerned with the ones around his neck, because the marks there indicate that someone tried to choke him.

"However," he interjected upon seeing Aunt Cass's grip on her handkerchief tighten. "We've got him hooked up to fresh oxygen, and he appears to have sustained no major brain injuries, which is what we were most concerned about. As a matter of fact, he's asleep in the other room right now."

"Can I see him?" Aunt Cass asked hopefully.

"You can," responded the doctor. "Follow me."

Looking back at Heather and Phillip, the former gave Cass's hand a quick squeeze and a caring smile. She smiled back gently, before turning around and disappearing through the wide double doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm just gonna call it now, that chapter was quite the doozy. I hope it lived up to your expectations and was well worth the (unfortunately extended) wait.
> 
> I'm not even gonna apologize for the cliffhanger this time around. I'm afraid it's to be expected at this point. But at least you now know what happened to Hiro and Maiye now, right? And don't forget, the story is still not over *evil chuckle*
> 
> As far as updates go, I can't make any promises, but I will at least make an effort to be more consistent again. It might be a stretch, but I'd love to get this story completed by the end of the semester (December/January for me) since there are only a few chapters left. Make no mistake though, I am finishing this story. You guys can't get rid of me that easily lol.
> 
> Here's wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving with lots of pumpkin pie :) (and if you don't like pumpkin pie, I implore you to reconsider your life choices, but wish you a happy holiday anyways).
> 
> Love,
> 
> Liz


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooooo loyal readers! I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you've done for this little story of mine, including reading, reviewing, and having infinite amounts of patience waiting for updates *embarrassed smile*
> 
> Anyways, a little bit of background: I was hoping to finish this story during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season, but, well... I had the Christmas and New Year's holiday season, and all the preparation that goes along with it. And then, about a week into 2016, I hopped onto a plane and flew over to England, where I will be spending the latter half of my junior year studying abroad. I've been over here for little more than a month, and so far, things are going well. I'm taking some nice classes, working an internship that I'm really enjoying, exploring London and everything it has to offer, and meeting some amazing people.
> 
> Therefore, fair warning, future updates to this story will likely be a little delayed. But what did I say in my last author's note that still applies here? I'm finishing this story. It's already over a year old, and so close to being done, that I can't wait for you all to see what I have in store for you. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll throw heavy objects at my head through your screens...
> 
> ...yeah, let's just start the chapter, shall we?
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

 

_Ugh…_

Hiro blinked heavily as he opened his eyes, then shut them again when they made contact with the bright fluorescent light. His head was killing him and his body felt heavy, as though he were no more than a lead weight in the San Fransokyo bay.

 _Unnnnh…_ He grimaced. _Where am I?_

Blinking, Hiro forced himself to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. He was in a room, but it wasn't his room. And he was in a bed, but it wasn't his bed. The sheets were too starched, the blankets too scratchy, and the IV line was inhibiting his movements.

Wait… _IV_ line?!

Hiro's eyes immediately widened as he realized that yes, there was an IV line hooked up to his arm, just like the kind they had in… _hospitals._ He sat up with a start, only to feel a gentle touch on his shoulder push him back down again

 _Huh?_ Hiro turned to see who the mystery person was, and saw Aunt Cass smiling gently down at him.

"Hey sweetie," she said. "Glad to see you're awake."

Hiro opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was a hoarse little noise, and he found himself unable to speak. He began to panic. _Where am I?_ He wanted to ask. _What's going on?!_

"Shhh," Aunt Cass reassured him. "Everything's okay. You're in the hospital. There was an explosion on the island, and Yama tried to… hurt you." She swallowed hard at the last part, and Hiro could see by her red-rimmed eyes and smudged mascara that she had been crying.

"You have burns, scrapes, and bruises," she continued. "The doctor will explain more when he gets back."

Hiro opened his mouth to try and speak again, but was only met by another hoarse noise. Aunt Cass noticed his efforts and shushed him in response.

"Don't try to talk," she said firmly. "Just wait 'til the doctor gets here, okay?"

Closing his mouth again, Hiro nodded, all the while thinking, _What's the matter with me?_ _Why can't I speak?_

He began wracking his brains for some memory of how he got here. He remembered the warehouse, the robots, and confronting Yama. After that…

_Oh._

His thoughts stopped short as his fingers slowly drifted towards his throat.

_Oh god._

Aunt Cass nodded quietly. "That's what they were most worried about," she said. "But from what it looks like, it wasn't as bad as it could have been." She tried to smile at him. "Everything's okay."

Her words were comforting in nature, but the look in her eyes suggested that _nothing_ was okay. At all.

Hiro let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as his hand dropped wordlessly to his side. He couldn't _believe_ he'd allowed this to happen. They'd had a plan, they'd done their parts, and the others had- _Oh no._

He turned again towards his aunt who, as if expecting it, was holding out a pad of paper and a pen. Taking the items, he immediately scribbled down,

_Where are the others?_

"Everyone's fine," responded Aunt Cass. "Baymax too." But she paused and looked down at her lap, as if she were afraid to say the next part. "It's just… Maiye…"

_No._

Hiro sat up with a start, ignoring the pain in his head, as horrible scenarios began flashing through his mind. Grabbing the pen and paper, he almost tore the paper with what he wrote next,

_Where's Maiye?_

"Maiye is here," said Aunt Cass quickly. "She's in the hospital too. But Hiro, sweetie…" she paused. "She's in surgery."

_No._

"When the building exploded," Aunt Cass began to explain. "You and Maiye were still inside. Because of what Yama did, you lost consciousness, so she was trying to get you out. But then the explosion happened, the force threw you both apart, and Maiye, well… Maiye got pretty burned."

_No._

Seeing the expression on her nephew's face, Aunt Cass leaned forward and placed a hand on his arm.

"I know you're thinking the worst, sweetie," she said to him. "But trust me when I tell you that it's not as bad as it sounds. It's all on her arm, and according to the doctors, it's not the worst they've seen. She is going to need physical therapy, but her prognosis looks very good. It's just going to take some time."

 _No…_ _Maiye…_

Swallowing hard (and ignoring the burst of pain brought with it), Hiro shakily wrote,

_Can I see her?_

Reading over his words, Aunt Cass shook her head. "Not yet. She has to get out of surgery, and then they want to give her a CT scan. And as for you," she continued. "The doctor wants to come in and talk with you about your condition. They're saying they want to keep you overnight, just to be sure."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she apologized with a heavy sigh. "I know how hard this must be for you. But Maiye is going to be all right, you'll see. It's just going to take some time." She took his hand and attempted a reassuring smile, but Hiro wasn't convinced.

Maiye was in the hospital. Maiye was in _surgery._

_Because of him._

Being choked by Yama had caused Hiro to pass out, lose consciousness, leaving the responsibility of getting him out of the building to _her._ If not for him, she could have escaped _that_ much quicker. She very well could have avoided having to go to the hospital at all.

But she'd been delayed.

By _him._

Hiro's shoulders slumped and he leaned back into the pillows, suddenly feeling as if he'd lost his spine completely. He was still having trouble processing it. Maiye had been hurt. Maiye had been burned. Third degree burns were no joke. Her life could have been hanging by a thread.

_Because of him._

Hiro could hear his aunt talking to him now, trying to help him, comfort him, do _anything_ to make him feel better.

But nothing worked.

* * *

_It wasn't until about a month into the semester that Maiye realized she might be falling for Hiro._

_She wasn't sure how it had happened. On her part, it was completely unplanned. She'd come to San Fransokyo with the express intention of going to her dream college, building her dream future, and leaving that nightmare called New Yorksea in the dust where it belonged. By all intents and purposes, romance had_ _**not** _ _been a part of the equation._

_Of_ _**course** _ _lab was going to be her favorite class this semester. With an open-ended project that allowed complete creative freedom, backed up with solid, indisputable facts (two of Maiye's_ _**absolute favorite things** _ _), how could it_ _**not** _ _be?_

_She hadn't planned on having her lab partner be the same way._

_Like the analytical person she was, Maiye tried to pinpoint the exact moment when she'd first felt these feelings towards him (because when faced with a new and unfamiliar situation, isn't that what people_ _**did?** _ _), but couldn't settle on just one moment._

_Had it been when he'd gone on a quick coffee run with his friends, and brought back her favorite tea without even having to ask?_

_Or when he'd noticed that she'd run out of money for the printer, had been too busy to replenish, and thus printed the_ _**entire length** _ _of the thirty-page article they needed for their project - again, without even having to ask?_

_And then, unconsciously, Maiye realized that she was doing things for Hiro as well. They were only little things, she'd thought crossly. Any decent human being would have done them._

_But would just_ _**any** _ _decent human being take thirty extra minutes out of their busy schedule just to listen to their lab partner ramble about robots, and actually be_ _**interested** _ _in such a topic?_

_Would just_ _**any** _ _decent human being be so insistent on looking after him when he'd cut his finger, despite the obvious fact that he had a healthcare robot built especially for that purpose?_

_And, during a late night at the lab, when exhaustion was setting in and emotions were high, would just_ _**any** _ _decent human being sit with him and allow him to cry on their shoulder (snot and all) while he was having a complete breakdown because he'd put up the Christmas tree the other day and his deceased brother wasn't here to see it?_

_Maiye was not a touchy-feely person. She valued her personal space so much that no one but family could be within six inches of her. Yet, there she was for nearly an hour, her arm around Hiro's shoulders, as he'd wept for his older brother. Never mind that Baymax was more than capable of looking after him on his own. At that very moment, there was nowhere else that Maiye would have rather been._

_Maiye knew the answer. She knew it. All the facts were there, and they were staring her in the face. It was useless to try and explain them away through mere friendship alone._

_For the first time in her life, Maiye Barton was falling in love._

_And she was_ _**terrified.** _

* * *

The doctor came, and now that Hiro was awake, took some time to speak with him and Aunt Cass. He went on for a long time, talking about Hiro's condition with words such as "prognosis," "vitals," and "lucky to be alive."

 _Lucky?_ Hiro had to stop himself from scoffing out loud. _Yeah right. My girlfriend was pretty much thrown into a_ _ **fire**_ _because of me, barely survived, and_ _ **I'm**_ _supposed to be the lucky one?_

To tell the truth, he was so distracted by what was going on with Maiye that he barely paid attention to what the doctor was telling him. Had it not been for Aunt Cass, he might not have retained anything at all. At least he'd been paying attention when they'd made him test his voice. Being choked by a guy as massive as Yama was no joke, but the doctor had deemed it okay for him to speak, so long as he didn't overdo it.

Long story short, everything was fine, progressing nicely, but he would be staying overnight just to make sure all was good. Happy happy, joy joy.

No sooner had the doctor left than Hiro's friends came rushing in, all wanting to make sure he was okay and update him on everything that was going on. The deal was this: unfortunately for the police, Yama and the Fujitas had gotten away. After the explosion, they'd covered their tracks and skipped clear out of town.

Or so they thought.

Although Hiro had been concerned for his friends after everything that happened, he hadn't felt much up for visitors. But when Fred mentioned the police having a possible lead, his ears instantly perked up.

"Yeah!" He was saying. "I guess one of Yama's goons wasn't very careful, and left an explosive right outside the building. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as complete as the others, but the bomb squad took care of it, and now they've taken it in as evidence!" He bounced excitedly in his chair. "Do you know what this means?!"

Hiro pondered his words carefully. "They can track Yama," he said at last.

"More or less," said Gogo, placing a hand on Fred's non-bandaged arm. "Will you stop that? You'll hurt yourself."

To Hiro's surprise, Fred listened straight interesting. Hiro raised an eyebrow, and upon looking to the others, found Wasabi smiling knowingly and Honey beaming like a proud mother.

This _was_ an interesting development. That being said though, Hiro had other things currently occupying his mind.

"How's Maiye?" he asked his friends, hoping one of them had seen her already.

"Still in surgery," frowned Honey. "But she'll be out soon, don't you worry."

Hiro nodded, but looked down at his lap and didn't respond further. An uneasy silence filled the room, until Gogo was the first to break it.

"We know this isn't easy for you," she said quietly. "And trust me, it isn't easy for any of us either. We've never had something like this happen before. I don't think anyone was prepared for this."

"But," she continued, going over and placing a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "You heard what your aunt said. Her prognosis is good, and things are going the way they should be. All we can do right now is wait. Do you understand?"

Hiro nodded again, a little numbly.

"Good." Leaning forward, Gogo gave the younger boy a hug, an action Hiro learned to appreciate when he found out just how few she gave.

Just like Maiye.

When she pulled back, Hiro looked up at her and pasted on his best smile.

"It's okay," he told her with false confidence, although his voice was still a little hoarse. "I'm okay."

She raised one eyebrow, and he could tell that she didn't fully believe him, but she didn't push the subject any further.

From then on, the conversation was kept light and casual, relating only to simple, ordinary topics: school, the weather, and the complicated projects that each of them were currently working on. The usual.

Around six o'clock, Aunt Cass decided to run back to the house to pack an overnight bag for Hiro, and Honey decided to go with her. Since it was just about dinnertime, Fred decided to run to the fast food joint across the street and take everyone's orders.

"Okay," he said. "Chicken wrap for Honey, veggie burger for Wasabi, double for me, French fries for Gogo, normal for Hiro, and cheese for his aunt. But what about Maiye?" He wondered for a moment. "What would she like?"

"Not burgers," said Hiro. "A wrap. If they let her eat it, that is."

"That's true," responded Fred. "What about a yogurt instead?"

"Strawberry," muttered Hiro. "Or blueberry. The fruity kind."

"Got it!" Fred gave Hiro a thumbs up. "I'll add it to the list then."

"You mean _I_ will," Gogo rolled her eyes in his direction. "And I'll be driving too. You're not supposed to exert your arm."

"Driving," said Fred. "Will _not_ exert my arm. Besides, I thought Heathcliff could use a rest, so I sent him home for the night."

"I completely agree," said Gogo. "But you are _not_ driving."

"But I _love_ driving!"

"The only driving _you're_ doing," snapped Gogo. "Is driving me crazy. Now let's go."

Fred sighed and clutched his heart in mock-heartbreak as he followed her through the door. "We'll see you soon, Hiro," he waved. "If I don't come back, it's because I went joyriding without Gogo knowing."

"Don't even _think_ about it." Turning around, Gogo nodded at Hiro. "See you soon, Hiro."

As she and Fred turned to leave, only Wasabi and Hiro were left in the room. In the far corner sat Baymax, alone and deactivated. With all the commotion, Hiro hadn't gotten the chance to catch up with his best friend.

He turned to Wasabi. "Could you give me a moment?" He asked. "I need to talk to Baymax."

"Sure, little man," Wasabi gave him a quick smile. "I wanted to check up on a few things here anyways. You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah," said Hiro. "Don't worry about me."

"Got it," said Wasabi. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." Turning around, he pulled the hospital curtain closed and exited through the open door.

Once he was alone, Hiro turned towards the boxy form and uttered the only word that needed to be said right now.

" _Ow."_

* * *

That night, Hiro lay awake in his hospital bed. After the ordeal he'd been through, one would think that a good night's sleep would come easily to him. However, that was the _last_ thing the young genius wanted right now.

After Wasabi left, he'd spoken to Baymax for a long time, questioning him on what he remembered and filling him in on what he didn't. His security protocol had been disabled when the Fujitas messed with him, and that was the _least_ of Hiro's worries. Nonetheless, when he'd spoken to the robot, it seemed that, with a little bit of tweaking, he'd be just fine.

If only Hiro could say the same for himself.

"Maiye was injured because of the explosions that Yama created," Baymax had told Hiro. "It was not because of anything you did."

"It's because of me that she was there in the first place," Hiro had snapped back at him. Then, he softened. "I'm sorry, buddy." He said. "I know it's not your fault."

"It is alright, Hiro," said Baymax. "I have noticed a change in your behavior throughout our entire conversation. I hope you do not mind, but in the best interests of your health, I have taken the liberty of performing a scan on you. Would you like me to read you the results?"

"Sure," sighed Hiro. "Why not?"

"I am required by law to ask for a patient's permission before disclosing any past, present, or future medical informatio-"

"Baymax," Hiro hissed through his teeth. "It's _just_ an expression."

"Besides the trauma to your throat that brought you here," said Baymax. "Your heart rate, arterial tension, and testosterone levels have all increased dramatically. By comparison, your cortisol levels have decreased, and the left hemisphere of your brain has become more stimulated. My diagnosis is this," the robot finished. "You are angry."

"You're right, Baymax," sighed Hiro. "I _am_ angry. What now?"

"You have already discussed the situation about Maiye with me," replied Baymax. "But I can see that it has not helped you in any way."

What could Hiro say? As usual, the robot was right.

"I just don't know what to do," he said softly. "You probably picked up on this already, but I don't _just_ feel angry. My girlfriend is in the hospital, and there's next to nothing I can do about it. I just feel so… so…"

"Helpless?" said Baymax gently.

Hiro let out another sigh. "You got it, bud."

Waddling over to the side of the bed, Baymax leaned over and wrapped two squishy arms around Hiro, the action eerily reminiscent of the last time Hiro felt like this, after losing Tadashi. The same helplessness, the same loneliness, and the same, ever-present sense of guilt.

_You did this._

_It's your fault._

_You shouldn't have been so reckless._

_You should have tried harder._

No matter how hard he tried though, no matter how hard he worked or how much he talked to his friends, Hiro could never escape the ever present sense of guilt that followed him around and kept him from fully living his life.

_This is your fault._

_Why didn't you save them?_

_If not for you…_

_Everything would be different._

It was worst during these moments, these quiet moments when there was no one left but Hiro and his ever swirling, ever repetitive thoughts that he could never fully shake. No matter what they told him – his aunt, his friends, his _therapist_ – they had all been wrong. The feelings _hadn't_ gone away, no matter how hard he tried.

They just kept coming _back._

"It is alright to cry," Baymax told him softly. "Crying is a natural response to pain."

From the robot's embrace, Hiro sniffled.

"I don't _want_ to cry," he said. "I want to see her."

"Hiro, I don't know if that is-"

" _Please_ Baymax," Hiro interrupted. "I – I have to see for myself. You get that, don't you?"

The robot was silent for a moment. Then he spoke.

"Hiro, I don't think it is the best idea for you to be going out right now. The doctor said-"

"Baymax," Hiro said firmly. "I am _satisfied_ with my care."

At that one little phrase, the healthcare robot had no choice. Tadashi had programmed him to offer life-saving medical advice and procedures when directed, but even he couldn't force treatment on a patient that didn't want it. A minute later, he was back in his box, and Hiro was alone.

Ignoring the advice of the doctor, the nurses, and nearly everyone else he'd encountered in this godforsaken hospital, Hiro pulled himself out of bed, grabbed his IV line, and began walking down the hallway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert usual note about cliffhangers here and accepts the tomatoes that will surely be thrown my way, because darn it all, I LOVE TOMATOES*
> 
> So yes, the physical battle may be over, but the emotional battle? That, my friends, is just beginning.
> 
> In any case, I hope you all had a very merry Christmas/holiday season, a happy new year, and as of this upcoming weekend, a happy Valentine's day :) See you soon!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Liz


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Easter everyone! I hope you're all doing well and eating lots of delicious candy ^-^
> 
> Not much to say about this chapter, other than the fact that I'm glad it's finally done. Phew! *wipes brow* I've gotta say, the writing process for this one was really on-and-off, completed mostly during my commutes on the London tube. You'd be surprised how conducive the atmosphere can be to us writers lol ;)
> 
> Anyways, I told myself I was gonna get this done before the end of the month, and lo and behold, I most certainly did. Score one for me! *Baymax-style fist bump*
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.

 

_It was Friday night, and instead of relaxing, Maiye Barton found herself busier than ever. She was up on her feet, darting about her family's kitchen, peeking under pans and stirring pots. Her hair was tossed up into a messy bun, and her apron strings were starting to unravel._

_Hiro was coming for dinner._

_Maiye had always loved to cook. Ever since she was little, she enjoyed helping her dad in the kitchen, usually while her mother was painting. Maiye's mother couldn't cook for peanuts, so while she and her father got to work, she would relegate herself to a far corner to watch them. It was one of the few good memories Maiye had of the woman._

_However, it seemed her father had not broken the habit when he married Heather, because the only thing she could make without risk of burning the kitchen down involved a microwave, and even_ _**that** _ _had its ups and downs._

_Therefore, meals in the Barton family household usually consisted of Phil's cooking, Maiye's cooking, their combined culinary prowess, and anything you could heat with a microwave. Or takeout. There was_ _**always** _ _takeout._

_Now though, as Maiye bustled about the small kitchen, Heather stood at one lone counter, peeling vegetables and making sure various dishes didn't burn or boil over. Meanwhile, in the living room, Yumi sat in her playpen with a set of blocks, happy as a clam. The open-concept floor plan of the Barton home allowed for both Maiye and Heather to occasionally glance over and see that the troublesome two-year-old was staying put._

_Just when Maiye thought she didn't have enough to worry about, her father suddenly came lumbering through the front door, home from work, dressed in none other than his full police getup._

" _Hey, ladies!" he said brightly. "What are we making?"_

" _Dad," Maiye's eyes widened in horror "What are you_ _ **wearing?!"**_

" _My police uniform?" He raised his eyebrows. "Like I_ _ **always**_ _do when I go to work?"_

" _But you're supposed to change_ _ **there!"**_

" _Usually, yes. But it's Friday and this thing needs a wash." Walking into the kitchen, Phil began rummaging through the cabinets. "Now where did we put that salad spinner?"_

" _I think what Maiye_ _ **means,**_ _dear," Heather cut in patiently. "Is that_ _ **surely**_ _you're not planning on wearing that when her new boyfriend is coming for dinner?"_

" _New boyfriend?" grinned Phil. "Perfect! What are we having?"_

" _ **Dad!"**_ _Maiye shrieked. "You can't wear that! You'll scare him away!"_

" _But haven't I already met him?" he asked her. "When you guys fought that robot?"_

" _Yes, but this is_ _ **official."**_

" _I would say giant destructive robots are pretty official, wouldn't you?"_

" _DAD, IT'S_ _ **DINNER."**_

" _Phillip," Heather interrupted and sighed. "Go upstairs and change."_

" _Alright, alright," He put his hands up in defeat and turned towards Maiye. "I'm sorry, kiddo," he said. "I was only fooling around."_

" _I know," Maiye said. "I just_ _ **really**_ _want this to go well, that's all."_

" _Why, is he asking for your hand in marriage?"_

" _ **DAD!"**_

" _I'm just kidding, sweetheart," he laughed and patted Maiye's shoulder. "You're smarter than that, I know."_

" _And so is he," Maiye raised her hand and shooed it towards her father. "Now get out of my kitchen."_

_Jaw dropping in mock horror, Phil put one hand on his hip and struck a sassy pose. "Ruuuude!" he sang loudly._

" _I don't care," Maiye turned back towards the oven. "So long as you not do that while Hiro's here."_

" _Oh boy," Phil shook his head and chuckled softly. "This_ _ **is**_ _serious."_

_As he turned to walk up the stairs, he just missed the blush that had begun to come over his daughter's cheeks._

_Maiye's father was right. This_ _**was** _ _serious._

* * *

_206… 206… 206..._

… _206?_

Hiro's mind felt fuzzy and he was starting to regret leaving the warmth of his bed as he tread softly down the desolate hospital corridor, bare feet echoing against the cold, unforgiving tile. If anyone caught him out here, he'd surely be in trouble. Patients weren't supposed to walk around without at least a nurse to guide them in case they became disoriented and lost their way. And with such injuries that Hiro had sustained throughout the day, he was the _last_ person who ought to be walking around alone.

But he had to find her.

It was like he told Baymax before he left. He _had_ to see her for himself, know for _certain_ that she was the one lying in that hospital bed, and not some ginger-haired doppelganger who'd stolen her identity.

But when he finally arrived at his destination, there was no further doubt left in Hiro's mind.

It was absolutely, completely, and unequivocally _her._

She looked different of course, but so did everyone who stayed in a hospital room. Despite the scratchy blankets, dreary gown, and single fluorescent light shining above, it was obvious to anyone that the girl in the bed was Maiye Barton.

It was well past midnight and she was tired, so she obviously wasn't awake. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was rising and falling at a steady rate so that the only sounds in the room were her quiet breathing and the _beep…beep…beep…_ of the machine by her bed.

Looking down at her, Hiro swallowed hard and wondered if he should have come in the first place, done as everyone said and waited until tomorrow to visit. But what was the point in waiting? Morning would come and she'd still look the same, wouldn't she?

Instead of being in a high ponytail or messy bun like usual, her hair was down, the long, red strands sitting limply over her shoulders and the pillow behind her. As a result of the explosion, a few pieces were singed here and there, dusty little dots colored black and gray. Her right cheek was bandaged, and her mouth was covered by an oxygen mask, helping her to breathe.

But that wasn't all. On the upper portion of her left arm, white gauze bandages were wrapped around the entirety of the appendage and across to her opposite shoulder, peeking out through the top of the dingy hospital gown, serving as a physical reminder of the guilt Hiro felt deep inside.

It was probably a good thing Maiye was asleep right now, because there was no doubt in Hiro's mind that if she were awake to see him out of bed, he would get shouted at.

" _What are you doing here!?"_ she'd say to him. _"You're not supposed to be out of bed! Go back and rest!"_

"... _Yes, I'm happy you came to see me. But I'd rather you do it when you're healthy again. Did you even tell your nurse where you were going?"_

_"...Mhmm, I didn't think so. Now go back to bed, or I'll call my own nurse right now. See this button here? I'm gonna press it, and_ _**then** _ _you'll be sorry. Oh_ _**boy** _ _, will you be sorry!"_

In his mind's eye, he could almost see her laughing as she did that, her fingers carefully poised over said button, hovering just out of reach, telling him to get out of here and come back later.

_Quite possibly when she was awake._

Hiro gave another sigh and shook his head, ignoring the tiny burst of pain that came along with it. This was a mistake. He shouldn't have come to see her. He thought that doing so would help him somehow, assuage the heaviness in his heart, but it didn't. It just made it worse.

_What were you expecting?_ His subconscious taunted him. _That she would get up and say hello to you? She's_ _ **hurt,**_ _stupid. Because of_ _ **you.**_

Hiro grit his teeth and tried once again to banish the thoughts from his head, but to no avail. He was a genius, and therefore an expert at retaining facts he knew to be true. And at the moment, nothing felt more true than this.

The mission went wrong. The bad guy got away. His girlfriend was in the hospital.

Because. Of. _Him._

It was no use. No matter which way he looked at it, Hiro couldn't deny that he was somewhat responsible for everything that happened lately. He was the one who first swindled Yama. He was the one who asked Maiye to join the team. It had been _his_ brilliant plan that pushed her within an inch of her life.

And that didn't even _begin_ to top his list of regrets.

This incident marked the second time in Hiro's life that he'd allowed someone he loved to run straight to their doom. On the night Tadashi died, he had been _right there._ The explosion that killed him was so similar to this one it was downright eerie.

He could have stopped him. He _should_ have stopped him.

And Maiye too.

But the truth of the matter was this: Hiro hadn't been able to stop her from getting hurt any more than he'd stopped Tadashi running into the lecture hall.

Bowing his head, Hiro shut his eyes tightly as tears began forming from within. Why did this keep happening? First his parents, then his brother, and now his girlfriend. The universe had taken the first two already, and the third was currently lying in a hospital bed, lucky to be alive. If this was a practical joke, it stopped being funny a _long_ time ago.

It wasn't enough that his childhood status as a genius alienated him from the rest of his peers. It wasn't enough that he'd spent most of his youth getting picked on and pushed around by other people. And, it wasn't enough that his only support system throughout all that, his only friend, had been taken from him, just like _that._

Now that he had friends, he'd put them in danger. Now that he had normality, he'd shattered it. And, now that he'd finally developed romantic feelings for someone – the firstperson he'd met after Tadashi's death who saw past all his genius and all his problems and had accepted him just the way he was – he'd allowed her to get hurt.

It seemed to be a universal fact. Because of him, people got hurt.

And he couldn't let that happen.

Leaning down, Hiro pressed a gentle kiss onto Maiye's forehead, one of the only places where there were no bandages or tubes to get in the way, before turning around and quietly leaving the room.

* * *

" _So where'd you get those anyways?"_

" _Get what?"_

" _Those!"_

" _You're going to have to be more specific."_

_From his position beside Maiye, Hiro laughed and gestured towards her neck. "Your dog tags," he said to her. "They're cool."_

" _Thanks," she smiled briefly and turned back to her computer screen._

_It was a beautiful day to spend outside. Finals were over, the semester had ended, and winter break was finally upon them. Well, less of a winter break and more of a sixty-degrees-and-sunny-every-day break. But as she informed Hiro not five minutes earlier, that name was much too long and entirely impractical._

_After formally declaring their feelings during an intense week of finals, the young couple was now taking the time to enjoy their new relationship as it came to them. In the meantime, everyone else breathed a huge sigh of relief and collectively whispered, "Finally."_

_**I still can't believe they were placing bets on us.** _ _Maiye suppressed an eyeroll as she typed out a new row of code._ _**Do people here** _ _ **really** _ _**have nothing better to do?** _

_Her typing was suddenly interrupted by the feeling of a gentle weight on her left shoulder. Glancing over, she saw that Hiro had taken the liberty of resting his head there whilst he scribbled away in his journal, eyes cast downwards and partially obscured by his dark black hair. Maiye smiled fondly for a moment and returned the gesture, leaning back against him, before going back to her work._

" _So," Hiro said, breaking the comfortable silence. "Where'd you get them?"_

" _Hmm?" Maiye tilted her head up again and found herself staring directly into Hiro's wide brown eyes. "Get what?"_

" _Your dog tags," he clarified. "Are they yours? Or a family member's?"_

" _No," Maiye mumbled suddenly. "They're mine."_

" _Well, you're too young to have been in the military," continued Hiro. "I mean, unless there's something you're not telling me."_

" _No," Maiye laughed a little. "Nothing like that."_

" _No ROTC then?"_

" _Nope."_

" _Hmm," Hiro furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm running out of ideas here."_

" _I've got all day."_

" _Then," Hiro continued. "Was it just because you wanted some?"_

" _Well," Maiye sighed and didn't meet his gaze. "Yes and no."_

" _What's that mean?"_

_Maiye paused. "You'll think I'm weird," she muttered. "Or paranoid. Probably both."_

" _I already know you're neither."_

_Maiye turned her head to see Hiro looking at her with an expression that was so open and earnest that it caused her stomach to twist and her cheeks to redden. She let out a sigh._

" _They're for me, all right?" she said at last. "They've got all my information on them so I can always have it with me."_

" _Like an ID?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Cool," Hiro smiled. "Must make it easier on you."_

" _You would think so," Maiye responded. "But I don't like my reason for doing it."_

" _What's the reason?" asked Hiro. "Unless you don't want to tell me," He added quickly. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."_

" _No, I'll tell you," said Maiye. "I just – It's this weird thing I have. I have to have all my information with me all the time, in case anything bad should happen."_

_Hiro raised an eyebrow. "And what's so wrong with that?"_

" _Because it feels like I'm planning for the worst!" she blurted out. "I can't ever just relax. My mind is always going in a thousand different directions and I always seem to jump straight to the worst case scenario."_

_Placing her computer to the side, she pulled her knees to her chest and looked away from Hiro. "I_ _**know** _ _it sounds morbid," she said. "And the chances of anything happening are slim to none. But I just… I don't know, if anything happened to me and my family didn't know, I wouldn't want to make them suffer like that."_

_Hiro was silent for a moment while Maiye set her gaze forward, refusing to look him in the eye. What was the point? He probably thought she was crazy now anyways, if not entirely insane. As soon as the timing was right, he would probably make a quick exit and go find himself a girl with far less issues than Maiye. It was only a matter of time._

_Instead though, he simply leaned over and wrapped his arms around Maiye in a gentle hug, a gesture which surprised her so much that she instantly turned to look at him. Upon meeting his eyes, in them, she saw no judgement. Not even a little._

" _I don't think it sounds morbid," he told her. "And I don't think you have anything to worry about. For one thing, nothing is going to happen to you."_

_Maiye raised an eyebrow. "You can't prove tha-"_

" _Ah ah ah," Hiro raised a finger and cut her off, barely suppressing a smile. "I'm not finished yet."_

_Maiye rolled her eyes, but let Hiro continue._

" _For another," he said. "If anything_ _ **were**_ _to happen to you, it wouldn't be your fault. It would be some other idiot making your family suffer,_ _ **not**_ _you. You wouldn't be held responsible for that."_

_Maiye remained silent for a moment. "You make a good point."_

_Hiro grinned. "It's been known to happen." Leaning forward, he then surprised Maiye even further by pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her cheek._

" _I'm serious, though," he told her. "You have nothing to worry about."_

_Maiye felt her cheeks redden. Not only because Hiro had kissed her (which made her blush on its own), but because of what he was saying. Throughout the duration of their knowing each other, there had only been a handful of times where she'd seen him like this – caring and sweet._

_Maiye wouldn't lie, when they'd first met, she expected her lab partner to be cocky and arrogant, especially after hearing about his background as a child genius. She was so convinced that she'd be spending her semester dealing with another spoiled brat that she'd nearly written him off altogether._

_And now they were dating._

_Funny how that worked out, wasn't it?_

_Turning back towards Hiro, Maiye smiled at him but didn't realize their faces were still close together. As a result, they promptly bumped noses._

_Hiro's face turned a brilliant red. "Whoops."_

_Maiye laughed at his sheepishness. "Fine by me," she told him._

_Sensing an opportunity, Maiye stole a quick kiss from Hiro's unsuspecting lips, relishing the look of shocked surprise that came over his face. Then, he grinned._

" _Oh, so_ _ **that's**_ _how it's going to be?" he teased. "Well, we'll just see about that…"_

* * *

An entire week passed before Maiye was released from the hospital.

After the explosion, doctors determined that the burns on her arm were severe enough to require a skin graft. Once the procedure was done, she remained in the hospital for several more days before being allowed to go home.

But it wasn't over yet. The surgery was complete, but the recovery was not. Even though Maiye was at home now, she still had to rest and attend physical therapy at least twice a week. Third-degree burns were no joke. If left untreated, there was a chance that Maiye would permanently lose use of her left arm.

Luckily though, Maiye was a dutiful patient, if a very stubborn one, and determined not to allow a temporary setback impact her permanently. Therefore, with a little help from her parents (and Yumi), she took her medicine, changed her bandages, and attended physical therapy without complaint. And, although he still felt guilty for what happened, Hiro was with her every step of the way.

Time passed, and the end of the month was quickly approaching. To the gang, that meant only one thing laid upon the horizon: the beginning of a new semester. As they all sat gathered in the Lucky Cat Café, Fred was the first to broach the subject.

"I've been thinking," he said.

"Oh, really now?" Gogo teased.

"Yes," Fred laughed and his face flushed for a moment before continuing. "As we all know," he said. "Semester break is almost over. I think I can speak for pretty much everyone when I say it hasn't exactly been a smooth ride."

Wasabi was the first to let out a humorless chuckle. "Got _that_ right."

"Precisely," continued Fred. "Which is why I had an idea." Settling back in his chair, he turned to face the others. "I'm proposing that, as a team," he said. "We all do one last crazy awesome thing together before the semester starts and we get totally swamped down with work. You ready?"

The others exchanged concerned glances and raised eyebrows (this was _Fred_ they were talking about, after all), but turned their gazes back to their friend, who was now grinning widely from ear to ear.

"We take…" he announced with a dramatic flourish. "A _vacation._ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I go any further, I'd just like to clarify one thing right now: I am not a medical doctor. I have no experience regarding the treatment of injuries, burns or otherwise, beyond that of simple cuts and scrapes. The description of Maiye's injuries and treatment is based entirely upon my own research from a variety of sources, so if there are inaccuracies, then I apologize in advance.
> 
> On another note, yay! Vacation with the gang! Should be exciting... in more ways than one ;)
> 
> As always, thank you for your previous feedback. It's much appreciated!
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Liz


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